Torre Ladies took on a high flying Aspe side on unfamiliar territory this Sunday, as the league made the ladies play their home game on the Montesinos pitch as a result of fans running on the pitch on their last home game. Aspe took only a few minutes to show how far superior they were and at times passed the ball around the Torre girls as if they weren't there. There wasn't much we could comment on from our girls on the first half performance and we went in 0 – 5 down at half time. The second half showed our girls coming out with a bit of fighting spirit and for the first 10 minutes of the half Torre played some slick passing moves of their own that torn the defence of Aspe apart. The first goal came with a good patience passing move from the back right up the pitch with Sam smashing in a great shoot from the outside right corner of the box . The second come a few moments after that when again a good passing move ending with Maria getting brought down in the box. Jessi calmly put the penalty away. 2 – 5 game on. It wasn't to be the great come back though as Aspe recovered well and went on to dominate the game again and also went on the score 3 more goals. If Torry are to survive in this league they will all have to pull together and try to play the way a lot of us on the stands know they can instead of playing for themselves. Too much individual performances and not enough team effort. Torre are now awaiting the date and venue for the second half that still needs to be played against Elda. For more information please see our club website HYPERLINK "http://www.fctorreviejafemenino.web.officelive.com/"www.fctorreviejafemenino.web.officelive.com Team Sponsor Europa Network

'Swingtet' starts again at the Hotel Costa Narejos on Mondays. The first being Monday 22nd; March- 9 to 11.30 pm. Free admission of course. In May a Big Band Dance Night at the hotel tickets for 5 Euros.

For years unstoppable development fueled a real estate bubble that became the ideal breeding ground for political and business corruption schemes, with ties to illegal construction. And even now, two years after the bubble has burst with a bang and plunged Spain into a deep economic recession, the extent of that wave of corruption is still unravelling the length and breadth of the Valencian region. The common denominator in all the cases uncovered, in places such as Catral, Bigastro, Zarra, Llíber or Montroi, is the fact that they are all small communities whose mayors, in connivance with public workers, engineers, lawyers, developers and notaries, took advantage of the freedom that town halls have to run their own planning affairs. Besides fattening municipal coffers, local authorities also lined their own pockets by looking the other way as thousands of homes were built on land zoned as rural — often in exchange for hefty bribes. The arrest of the former mayor of Montroi for authorizing the construction of 77 houses on rural land is just the latest in a series of corruption cases that have, on occasion, reached Mafia- like proportions: in Polop, the courts are investigating whether the former chief of town planning, Juan Cano, hired two gunmen to murder the mayor, Alejandro Ponsoda, and have free rein to handle his affairs. Faced with a lack of discipline at the municipal level and an inefficient oversight by the Valencian government (the Consell), the police and the judiciary have finally stepped in to try to curb corruption through criminal proceedings. Experts agree that the predatory development model of the 1990s must be buried, and the officials involved expelled from electoral rolls. Both the Socialists and the Popular Party (PP), as well as nationalist groups, have been tainted by cases of municipal corruption. On the other hand, the politicians involved know that, so far, graft has never lost any one of them an election. European buyers have been the main victims of these schemes, especially British and German retirees who make up large communities in the Valencian region. Encouraged by their own thriving economies, they bought illegally built properties almost with their eyes closed. The swindles were helped along by a lack of ethics on the part of local agents who knew the operations were unlawful. When the deception became public knowledge, the duped owners began demanding that their homes be made legal and requested compensation for damages. Alarm bells regarding the legal insecurity of Valencian real estate first went off following a complaint filed by a group called Abusos Urbanísticos No (or, No to Town Planning Abuse). Enrique Climent, its president, underscores that the flood of corruption cases that have surfaced in the last three years are partly the result of that original complaint. “Let us not forget that the Spanish justice system is slow,” he says, adding that the origin of the problem lies in Valencia's town planning laws. “The problem began with the LRAU [Ley Reguladora de la Actividad Urbanística], a zoning law that evidences a complete lack of judgment or logic, and which enabled a bunch of people [the developers] to behave like rustlers and appropriate the land that belonged to individual owners. One party [the Valencian Socialists] approved it, and another party [PP] enforced it for 11 years without regulations.” Since 2002, Climent's group has filed over 20,000 complaints — 80 percent on behalf of residents of the Valencian region — with the European Parliament's Petitions Committee. This body sent delegations to the area in 2004, 2005 and 2007 to verify the reports of real estate abuses. Their conclusions were published in what became known as the Auken Report, a devastating document that explained all the “traps” that lay hidden behind Valencian town planning. “They said that these alleged instances of abuse were isolated cases, just a few black sheep,” says Climent. “But time has proven us right, and the herd no longer looks so white.” Climent also highlights that the buyers of illegal properties, especially the British, bought them in good faith. “They bought them because their economic situation allowed for it, but they risked everything in these operations, and sold their homes in exchange for an illegal property in Spain. They were tricked. In one case, an English citizen who bought a home in Montroi signed two contracts, one in English and the other one in Spanish, but it wasn't just the language that was different — so were the clauses.” Manuel Alcaraz, a professor of Constitutional Law at Alicante University and president of the group Plataforma de Iniciativas Ciudadanas (or Platform for Citizen Initiatives), says that the root of the problem is the philosophy behind all the building. “It was all the result of a construction model based on making money in the short run, which leads inescapably to speculation and corruption,” he says. Another factor, adds Alcaraz, was the complicity of Spanish society. “This complicity reached the very top of the political parties, especially the PP,” he says. “No effort has been made toward regeneration or political ethics. The PP built its political empire on opacity.” Alcaraz also thinks that a change in legislation is in order. “They should introduce unjust enrichment as a crime. It can't be normal for public officials who make €3,000 a month to display such flashy lifestyles.” Alcaraz points to the ineffectiveness of control mechanisms as the key to understanding why town planning corruption became so generalized. This lack of oversight begins with town halls, where the departments for zoning discipline have done nothing to curb the excesses, and goes all the way up to the Consell.” Carlos Arribas, an environmental activist and expert in real estate issues, agrees. “The proliferation of illegal homes on rural land has one root cause: the passivity of the Consell in exercising its powers, as described in the 1994 law on land zoned as not for building. That law includes enough mechanisms, such as the declarations of Community Interest Zone, to have put a stop to all the illegal construction,” says Arribas, the spokesman for the Alicante branch of the environmental group Ecologists in Action. Another expert points to the deregulation of zoning laws, the lack of oversight and the connivance of public workers and other professionals as the cause of real estate corruption. Honorio Fernández, president of the consumers association AECU, which filed a suit that uncovered a construction scandal in Catral, says: “Montroi, Llíber… it's all the same, and a result of the successive deregulation of the zoning laws that began under former Prime Minister José María Aznar and that extended to the Valencian region and its permissive LRAU, which was implemented without further regulations until 2005,” he explains. Fernández notes that the cooperation of several types of professionals was essential for the swindles to work.

Local artists give time and talent for earthquake victims. A further charitable initiative aimed at helping the victims of earthquake-torn Haiti, once again organized by local volunteers from Alzheimer's charity “A.F.A”, takes place on Saturday 20th March. This time, the venue for this “Music-while-you-shop” fundraising event is Torrevieja's “HABANERAS” commercial centre. Whether you choose to coincide the visit with a shopping excursion or just pop along to enjoy the live music of the artists who have given their time and talent in support of the venture, quality entertainment is guaranteed. Whilst these “open-air” concerts are offered completely free of charge, a team of volunteers will be on hand with their collection tins to receive donations from the public. All of the cash collected will be donated to helping the people of Haiti. The programme of entertainment is as follows: 12.00h to 14.00h: The VEGA BAJA BIG BAND. 17.00h to18.15h: Singer TONY KELLY. 18.15h to 20.00h: The KEITH MONK JAZZ BAND. DON'T MISS THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY OF ENJOYING QUALITY ENTERTAINMENT AND AT THE SAME TIME SUPPORTING A VERY WORTHY CAUSE. SATURDAY 20th MARCH – HABANERAS SHOPPING CENTRE.

On the 6th of March Javea Bulls qualified for the Valencian provincial play off finals by the fact the opposition cancelled their scheduled match. This did not deter Javea Bulls from utilising this time to put in some specialised coaching. Javea Bulls will now try and arrange a final fixture before the first round of the play off finals commencing on the 27/28th of March with a match against Castellon. Javea Bulls have now secured the services of an English National League Senior Coach who has also worked for the Rugby Football Union in the Development of Rugby in the city of Leeds. It is ironic that this coach with such a vast experience in the Director of Rugby/Coaching field has been laying dormant in Javea for 6 years. Such is the forward thinking of Javea Bulls Executive Board being driven by their President Peter Sowerby that Alan Price was asked to come and give the players the benefit of his expertise. That is now history and since that first coaching session in January both the players and coaching have gelled extremely well. Alan amongst several new players to the club were made to feel so welcome they have stayed. Such is the enthusiasm of the players, Alan stated is like being interrogated, having information in your head extracted for the benefit of the rugby orientated people of Javea and the surrounding district in general and the club in particular. It is their enthusiasm to develop rugby for people of all ages in Javea that makes it easy for Alan to help with the tasks at hand. Such is the pro active enthusiasm of the Executive Board has seen Xavier Monfort the Chairman of Youth Rugby planning to start 5 weeks of Come and Try rugby coaching for children between the ages of 6 to 15 years on the Arenal Beach in Javea commencing on Sunday the 23rd of May holding 2 sessions each Sunday one at 10.30 and the other at 13.00hrs. Each session should last between 60 and 75 minutes and give children the delights of sampling various aspects of rugby training in a safe non contact environment. After the 5 weeks of come and try it rugby the children or people wishing to help with the development of the club mini rugby section will be invited to attend further training sessions where the contact side of the game will be taught safely. Javea Bulls have a brand new pitch under construction for the start of next season, they are confident promotion to the next league will be secured and hope that their new clubhouse will follow shortly afterwards. For further information on becoming part of this exciting new club no matter whether you wish to come and be involved or just watch the matches contact Alan Price on 680683843 or visit their web page www.javeabulls.com

Carol Marriner The March Trophy was played in good weather conditions with the sun making a very welcome guest appearance. The wind did become stronger later in the day which affected the later groups. The pin placements were a popular topic of conversation at the 19th hole as they were very tricky and hard to read for most, me included. The many bunkers were visited frequently as were the well placed waste areas. The course remains a fair test of golf and is still to be conquered by the majority of members. The Bermuda triangle seemed to have been re-located that day as more than one member reported balls disappearing without trace from fairways, never to be seen again. I heard tales of one member losing four balls and that was not counting those lost in the water! The day was marred by the news that our Treasurer, Terry Longman, had written off his car on the way to the course. Fortunately he was unhurt and we look forward to seeing him at our next competition. John Leach, a passenger in the car was badly shaken so we congratulate him for stoically completing his round. Better news of two of our members, Mike Kelly and Keith Porter, who have now been released from hospital and we wish them both a speedy recovery and a quick return to the golf course. Finally, may we thank the staff at Vistabella for all their assistance, especially the ever smiling Tabitha. The day's winners were: Gold Division Harry Mixture 31 point Silver Division Mike Ingle 26 points Bronze Division Neil O'Donoghue 29 points Nearest the pin Hole 2- Harry Mixture Hole 6 – John Milton The next game is Thursday 18th February 2010 at El Plantio. First tee time 9.28a.m. Anyone wishing information on the Society can contact Bill McGrandle on 679 007756

with Sara Hamer In the Northern League only one El Cid team played. The Swords played at home against the Javea Green Onyx. Swords had two good wins, but not enough to get the overall shot difference. The result was 4 points to Swords and 6 points to Onyx. Sabres had a week of rest and Scimitars were again rained off! Our Winter League team also had a week with no game. Updates of the in-house Irish Cup competition league standings can now be found on the club website along with details of Federation competitions we are entering. Don't forget to put the Club Championship Finals dates in your diaries – they will be played on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th March and the order of play can be found in the competition details section of our club website. A buffet and the presentations will follow the finals on the Saturday. We will be having an Easter Bonnet fun day on Sunday 4th April. Prizes will be awarded for the best Easter Bonnets and keys will be drawn for teams. Put your name on the list soon as places will be limited. Entry is now open for two of our open competitions. The J & J Two-Wood Mixed Pairs Open will be held on 1st, 2nd and 3rd May and the Australian Pairs Open will be held on 6th, 7th and 8th June. For more details contact Derek Randall or see our club website. New members are always welcome at El Cid Bowls Club and training sessions can be arranged for new bowlers, please contact El Cid Bowls Club on 96 640 4364. More details can be found on our website at www.elcidbowlsclub.com.

by Doug Wright That's 2 months of the year gone already. Where does it go? It won't be long before we are complaining about the heat, not before time I say. On Monday we played a Stableford only using 5 clubs & a putter. As usual I managed to pick the wrong clubs but a shortage of clubs did not appear to affect the winner, Tony Brooks, who came in with 35 pts. Runner up with 33 pts was Sue Golding. We woke up on Wednesday to rain and therefore the majority of us decided not to get out of bed. However 9 hardy souls did and they were rewarded when at about 9.00am the skies cleared and a day of blue sky & sunshine followed. The nine played a Stableford which was won with another very good round by Lindsay Forbes who had 36 pts. Runner up with 33 pts was Barbara Hitchings. We had an extra days golf this week with an away day to La Finca on Thursday. We had a great day in perfect weather conditions. Although no one broke par scoring in general was good with a third of the 28 players being within the handicap buffer zone. The results were; 1. Dave Ottway 36 pts, 2. Liz Robertson 35 pts, 3. Barry Holtham 34 pts (on count back), 4. Mick Brentnall 34 pts. Tom Hardie & John Wheeler also had 34 pts but lost out on the back nine count back. There were only two 2s in the 2s Club from Ken Robertson & Donna Adcock. We were back at Las Ramblas on Friday for a Yellow Ball. The greens had just been treated and heavily top dressed, so putting & chipping was a nightmare. Despite that, the team of Ken & Liz Robertson, Barbara Hitchings & Heinz Lei came in with a tremendous score of 147.

At Hacienda del Alamo on 8th March. We had a good turn out of 32 players for our first visit to the Hacienda del Alamo course in 2010. This is an extremely long course compared with most that we play and this week it was made even more difficult by the bitingly cold and strong wind which was blowing throughout the day. The only consolation was that the wind kept away the torrential rain which affected most of the region during the day and we were fortunate to escape with just a very brief light shower. Most of our group however were ill equipped in terms of warm clothing to cope with the cold conditions which were easily the worst most of our members could remember experiencing in Spain. The course which in the 4 days prior to our visit had hosted a major pro-am competition was also set up extremely difficult, especially the greens which by our Society standards were lightning fast. Consequently scores were generally poor but the Captain congratulated everyone for completing their rounds when there must have been a temptation for many to give up at the half way stage to seek refuge in the warmth of the Club House. It was decided to play a mystery pairs Stableford Competition with partners being drawn at the conclusion of the round. The full list of winners on the day were: 1st : Charlie Chaplin and Paul Fletcher. 2nd: Steve Roney and John Brooks. 3rd: Stan Boyles and Dave Banton. The prize for best individual was won by Ian McCormack on count back, lower handicap rule, with 27 points beating John Glennon and John Brooks who each recorded the same score. Prizes for the best lady and guest were awarded to Marianne Hunt and Terry Bosworth respectively. Nearest the pin prizes were won by Geoff Walters, Terry Bosworth and Steve Roney and the longest drive for ladies by Lynne Murison. The 2's prize fund this week was won exclusively by one of our newer members John Evans and the football card draw by Alan James. This week also saw the completion of first semi final of the pairs match play with Maurice Lea and Brian Goodbourn proceeding to the final at the expense of Alan James and Roy Welburn. Future Fixtures and Events: Monday 15th March, Alenda, first tee time 10.24. Monday 22nd March, Hacienda Riquelme, first tee time 11.40. Wednesday 24th March, Quiz Night, Lilley's Restaurant, Torre de la Horadada, 7.30pm, see white book for full details or contact Marianne Hunt or Peter Ferries. Monday 29th March, Villamartin, first tee time 10.52. Contact: Geoff Walters, Secretary Tel 966 763 369 or email geofwalt@telefonica.net

The third annual St Patricks day celebrations in Daya Nueva will take place on Sunday March 14th and Wednesday March 17th.On Sunday 14th a large parade and concert will follow a church ceremony in the parish church of San Miguel where the local choir will sing at a special mass. The statue of St Patrick will be paraded through the streets of the village to the town hall where a flag raising ceremony will follow the playing of the Spanish and Irish anthems. Complimentary drinks and food will be available at the town hall. At three o clock the statue will return to the church and a concert of Celtic and Irish music will take place in the adjoining square, This year the music will be provided by Bardoi Celtic music group, the Torrevieja pipes and drums band, the local singing group New Alliance and the Willie Hume pipers. Entry to all events is free. However a voluntary collection on behalf of the Red Cross Haiti relief fund will take place. A special feature of this years event will be the appearance of a large number of vintage cars from the Torrevieja and district classic car club. The Guests will include the Mayors of Daya Nueva, Rojales and neighbouring village Daya Viega, also present will representatives of the Irish consulate British consulate Alicante regional government and the foreigner's office of Torrevieja town hall. The statue of St Patrick will be carried by special guests The international cofradia from Torrevieja, also in attendance are the Huertanas group from Almoradi, in traditional Spanish costumes. On Wednesday 17th a gala dinner will take place at local restaurant YoYo with music and entertainment, Tickets are available from the restaurant or by contacting Brendan Kelly on 618151157 or e-mail brendan.kelly@terra.es who will give any information required.

12.03.10 Ghost Academy presents a Comedy Fairy-tale Play at Restaurant New Asturias, Punta Prima, 7.30 p.m. Admission free, voluntary donation on entry to AECC. 31.03.10 Craft Fair and Boot Sale at the Coopers Arms, Doña Pepa, Quesada. Booters from 9.00 a.m. buyers from 10.00 a.m. Phone 966 719793 for further information. 01.04.10 Miniature Golf Tournament at Quesada Minigolf. Open 10.30 a.m, rounds start from 11.00 a.m. Entry Fee 7€ per person. Food provided. Teams of 4. 1 or 2 rounds of golf depending on number of entries. Bookings before end of March please, by telephone to Louise 96 671 9793. 24.04.10 The 15th AECC Annual Walk takes place in Torrevieja. Sponsorship forms available from the AECC office at Calle La Calera 2, Torrevieja (965 716679), Jackie on 966 722358, Beryl on 629 891482, Peter at Santa Pola on 627 262723, Bea at La Marina on 966 796004 and via email at walk@aecctorrevieja.org. More details at www.aecctorrevieja.org. Boot Sales are being held at The Coopers Arms, Doña Pepa, Quesada, every Wednesday at 10.00 a.m. (sellers from 9.00. a.m.). For further info phone 966 719793. Table-Top Sales are held at The Castle, San Miguel every Saturday 9.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m. Please contact JULIE 619 560 043 if you wish to donate any ítems for this sale. Table-Top Sales are held at La Herradura, Los Montesinos every Saturday 9.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m. Please contact MAGGIE 966 786 184 if you wish to donate any items for this sale. Auctions are held at: RENDEZVOUS BAR, Pueblo Principe, Tuesday; CHEERS BAR, Eagles Nest, Wednesday; BUDDIE'S BAR, Playa Flamenca (near Saturday Market and Judges Chambers) Thursday; EMERALD ISLE, Playa Flamenca, Friday. All at 1.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. If you have any items to donate for auction contact Carol and Ron 965 319 929 Mobile 688 238 879. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AECC are continually looking for people able to organise concerts or other fundraising events in aid of AECC. Even in times of recession AECC still provides services such as early detection of cancer and hospital visiting for those undergoing treatment, so fundraising is vital in these times. Please call AECC on 965 716679, Elizabeth on 966 798296 or Bea (La Marina) 966 796004 if you can help in any way. AECC are always in need of items suitable for use as tombola prizes. Please do not throw away any unwanted pesetas, if you can help with any of the above please let us know. Visit the AECC English-Language Website for further information about all aspects of AECC in the Torrevieja area: www.aecctorrevieja.org

At the quarterly zone meeting of local Lions Clubs, held in Los Alcazares and attended by representatives from Torrevieja Costa Lions, Torrevieja Suomi Lions and Mazzaron Bahia Lions, it was announced that the aggregate sum of the fund raising efforts of the three Clubs had raised in excess of 10,000.00 euros, around 14,000.00 US Dollars. This money has been forwarded to the Lions Club International Appeal and is already having a beneficial effect on the people of Haiti. Lions Club International have with the support of Lions throughout the world been able to pledge well in excess of 4,000,000.00 US Dollars to the people of Haiti, with a promise of more to come. Lions are currently on the ground in Haiti providing help with the reconstruction of schools, hospitals and providing emergency aid and shelter to those most in need. In addition where medical help is required most specifically with eye and general optical problems the Lions are utilising their world renowned expertise in eye and optical care to help wherever required. It is anticipated that the work of the Lions in Haiti will continue for years to come and Lions Club International are commited to providing support for as long as it takes to return the people of Haiti to some form of normality. The three Clubs in our Zone are extremely grateful for the public support to date and Torrevieja Costa Lions would specifically like to thank the pupils and staff of El Limonar Schools in Villa Martin and Murcia for their combined donation of 3,200.00 Euros, a fabulous effort.

New success of teams of Torrevieja Tennis Club in the championship of the Valencian community, because one week after the rise of children's team, has also managed to reach the final of second division and promotion to first division team of veterans + 45 through his victory by 5 to 4 vs. veterans CTAltea. Torrevieja team won in extremis as the single ended with a poor outcome from 4 to 2 and had to make an extra effort to prevail in all three doubles final by 5 to 4 and commented. Next week contesting the final against the winner of CTLas Vegas CTTorrent and Valencia. The team included finalist José María Manresa, Antonio Cos, Moises Malo, Jose A. Sanchez, Jose V. Bern and Paul Serna. Moreover the children's team could not play the final scheduled for Saturday due to rain and was postponed to next Saturday in Vegas CTLas tracks of Valencia.

Last week saw the 2nd Costa Blanca Cup of this year, as usual held at the Montepiedra Sports Centre in Dehesa de Campoamor .Held on the last Friday of every month, the Costa Blanca Cup is a fun tournament played by both tennis and padel tenis players. It was a little touch and go with the weather but we were lucky the rain held of long enough to complete all the rounds necessary for the tournament. the tournament consisted of 2 events tennis, and padel tenis. Padel tenis is a sport best described as in between both tennis and squash, it is played on a smaller tennis court with a glass perimeter but still following the scoring of tennis. Both events consisted of 4 rounds of matches. The pairings were picked at random after each round and all scores were taken after each round was completed. The winners were the top scoring players from both sports who accumulated the most points over the morning. After a close run finish it was great to see two people come away with the trophy for the 1st time. So a big congratulations to Jane Euston winner of the padel tournament and Steve Mapel winner of the tennis event. (see photo) After the tournament the new owners of the restaurant in the Montepiedra Sports Centre, Amanda and Bob laid on a beautiful meal for all that played along with friends and family. The restaurant now has a wide range of well priced foods ranging from tapas to the traditional Sunday roast. I would like to thank the Montepiedra Sports Centre for the use of their courts a big thank you to Amanda and Bob, but an even bigger thank you to everyone that took part in the Costa Blanca Cup and making a special day and a great start to tennis on the coast for the, new year. A quick note that the next Costa Blanca Cup will be held on Thursday 1st April at the Pilar Sports Centre in, Pilar de la Horadada, due to the, Easter bank holiday weekend. If anyone is interested in finding out more about tennis or padel tenis here on the coast, or even interested in any of the upcoming social events that we have planned please don't hesitate to contact Gareth on 634322659 or go to our website www.costablancatennis.net

The Costa Blanca Tennis League was set up 3 years ago to give the opportunity for tennis players along the coast to play competitive club matches against other clubs within the local area. The league runs through the winter from October through to the beginning of March and this last year consisted of 8 teams split into 2 groups of 4 teams. At group stages all teams played against each other both home and away. After the completion of the group stages the top 2 teams from both groups were matched against each other at the semi final stages, the semi finals results were as follows: Campoamor All Stars beat Los Amigos and Orihuela Costa beat Quesada. Last Saturday saw the final of the Costa Blanca Tennis League which this year was held at the tennis courts at Campoamor Golf Course. On a windy, cold day it was still good to see that the finals were still well supported although with blankets and thick jackets. After a great day tennis and 4 tough matches Campoamor All Stars just edged out last year winners Orihuela Costa 12-10 to win the 3rd Costa Blanca Cup. I would like to say a big thank you to all that participated in this year league. It is the dedication of the people and players involved that makes the Costa Blanca Tennis League a success year in year out. A Mixed Doubled League is being run through the spring so anyone interested in entering a team please go to the websit www.costablancatennis.net and go to the league link or email me for the attention of Colin Bevan. Once again a big thank you to all involved and if anyone is interested in finding out anything about tennis from leagues to tennis classes or just social play please don't hesitate to contact Gareth Pritchard on 634322659 or go to www.costablancatennis.net ORIHUELA TEAM: Jeff Cook, Dave Ashwood, Eric Van Der Laan and “Dutch Dave” CAMPOAMOR ALL STARS: Steve Durie, Sean Concannon, Roberto Rodriguez, Waren Noble.

Cold, wet, and miserable. That's probably the best way of describing the Costa Blanca weather so far this year and Friday 5th March was no exception as we made our way to Oliva Nova for a Strokesford competition. In addition this was a second chance to improve scores in the Annual Eclectic and four singles matches were being contested in the knockout competition, making it a rather confusing day for the starter. Ros Fletcher started her matchplay game against Mike Garfield with a terrible eight on the first, however it somewhat eclipsed Mike's fourteen making him wish he wasn't playing in the Strokesford as well. His day didn't get any better as later in the round Ros claimed a hole when Mike played out of turn, before eventually going on to lose the match 3 and 2. Shame you didn't check the rule book Mike, the penalty is not loss of hole, you are only required to replay the shot. Still, it's only a game!!!! In the other matches Norman Howell beat Tony Carroll, Colin Foster knocked out Alan Hunter, and Mike Saul came back from four down with four to play and snatched a half against Roy Jones. On to the Strokesford, and the prizes today were kindly sponsored by one of our founder members, John Costigan, who provided golf balls and bottles of wine for the successful competitors. In first place was Gordon Gleeson, playing his normal steady game to record an excellent score of 16 off 12.4, two under par, just edging out John Feek with the same score but off a higher handicap. Richard Morris and Norman Howell were shocked to find their scores of 17 and 18 respectively were not good enough to get them in the prizes, although Norman received some consolation from his matchplay result and for recording a 2 on the difficult 11th hole. Further 2's were recorded by Ros Fletcher and James Torrance, all of whom will receive a coveted Montgo GS trophy ball when Norman manages to find them. Nearest the pin on the 3rd was won by Ros Fletcher and on the 16th Gordon Gleeson, whilst James Torrance also took nearest the pin with his second shot on the 18th. Finally Dave Skinner managed to win a professional golf lesson for coming last, and after finishing a full 22 shots above his handicap it sounds as if he needs it. Gordons win has taken him to the top of the eclectic table, however with only two birdies recorded by all members so far there is plenty of room for improvement before the end of the year. We have now finalized arrangements for our away trip in September, details of which are on the website. We will be going to Los Alcazares and staying in the Costa Narejos Hotel for two nights, playing the excellent Roda, Lo Romero, and La Finca courses. Members wishing to go should complete the online booking form or speak to John Feek as soon as possible. Our next meeting is on Wednesday 17th March at La Sella, when we will be holding the St Patricks Day Stableford. The event will be sponsored by Totalcare Property Services, and there is likely to be an Irish theme to the day. Members wishing to play should book in by visiting the website at www.montgogolfsociety.net and using the online form. Guests are welcome subject to availability and current handicap certificate. SPONSORED BY OFS SPAIN

FC Torrevieja's centre-back, Jorge, is not going anywhere, says the club's director of football, Tommy Taylor. Taylor was tipped off that a couple of scouts from Murcia would be at Sunday's home match with Novelda to check out the player. So before the game started, they were told that the 20 year old was not for sale. “I found out who they were and where they seated, and I had a brief conversation with them to tell them my position” said Taylor. “I also made it clear that I would not tolerate any unofficial approach”. Ironically, Jorge was sent off after an hour in a match that FC Torrevieja went on to lose one-nil.

We finally reached the last session of trials for the Alicante regional team this weekend. We have been attending these sessions since before Xmas and now, finally, we got to find out who had been selected. The Alicante regional team is the first step towards playing for the Valencian Comunidad team and then ultimately the national team. Local teams from within the Alicante region were invited to put forward their best players within the various age groups. After a very cold Saturday spent cheering on our boys, we were all on tenterhooks to find out who, if any, of our boys had been chosen. Thanks must go to Jorge Gallach from Torrevieja who is organizing, i.e taking all the flak, for this new team. It's great for rugby but also a triumph for bringing the Spanish and British communities together, sharing a common love for the game. Jorge then went on to say that the selectors believed that the Los Nomadas Rojales players where not only the biggest but some of the best players that they had seen during the trials. It was as we believed quality triumphs over quantity every time. We may be a small club but we are producing some players of a very high standard. So we are very proud of our boys Kane Baker and Dale Horsfall in the Benjamin section (ages nine and ten) and Andrew Butler and Tom Willett in the Alevin section (ages eleven and twelve). This is an even greater achievement for Andrew who has only been training for the last few weeks. Things are really start to come together for Los Nomadas Rojales. We have a really talented squad, of both English and Spanish players, who love the sport. And, just as important, we now have our own home ground. All this is thanks to Rojales council who continue to support rugby at the grass roots level. Many thanks as always to our sponsors, our kit looked great, K.T.P Electrical, Discount Electrical Appliances, The Amsteleria in Quesada, Crown Car Hire, The Angel Bar in La Marina, B.H.P Painters from La Marina, HablamosconHeidi in La Marina, Performance and Diesel Car Centre in Guardamar and Property Sales España of San Miguel. We are always on the look out for new players of all ages to come and train with us. Why not get involved and ring Ian on 650892044 or e-mail losnomadasrfc@yahoo.es. We train Mondays and Wednesdays at Rojales Polideportivo Municipal from 6pm until 8pm. We are also in need of referees, so if you have any experience with rugby at any level just contact Ian. 1. Dale Horsfall, Kane Baker and Andrew Butler 2. Tom Willett

Last week the team were licking their wounds from the hard game the weekend before against Denia, and look forward to get all the players back to training this week ready for the game against Elche at the weekend. With the weekend full of 6 Nations matches that kicked off on the Friday night with an entertaining game in Cardiff with Wales taking on France, which meant a nice relaxing weekend for the players with a few beers watching the rugby. Orihuela RFC have a number touring teams coming over this year for the seniors and vets, kicking off with Old Brods Vets in two weeks time and on 24 April during the Golden Oldies Vets tournament in Elche, Orihuela will be entertaining Rosslyn Park Nomads seniors, while the vets have a break in the middle of the day. This coming weekend we play the final league game of the season against Elche away on 6 March for the seniors, and then we will find out if we have reached the play offs again. Neither team can win the league, so both teams have just their pride to play for and to secure a place in the play offs, so should be an entertaining game of rugby. The following weekend will see Old Brods Vets playing against Orihuela RFC, 12.00 kick off after their game against Murcia on the Saturday, so hopefully they will be a little tired for us, so any vets who are interested in a game of rugby, contact me on the number below. On 23-25 April the club will have a stand again at the “This is Spain Exhibition” in the Orihuela Costa Resort Hotel in La Zenia. The club trains on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the juniors training from 18.15 to 20.15, while the seniors and juveniles are training from 20.30 to 22.30. So if you are interested, dig out those rugby boots and come along and see for yourself what it is like. If you would like more information about what is going on in the club, you can contact the club by phoning, the president Álvaro on 630 313 298 or myself, Garry on 692 767 242. For the juniors contact Oscar on 600 871 606 (Spanish) So come along and join in the fun and great friendly atmosphere at the club

We woke up to torrential rain in the valley and set with the feeling that we were travelling to “Bonalba” for coffee and then a trip back home, but we were pleasantly surprised to watch as the sky cleared and the sun came out but the wind remained still quite strong, it just goes to show that the sun always shines on the Warblers. Well enough about the weather onto the results, 26 golfers were at the course all looking forward to an opportunity to get there hands on another splendid array of prizes donated by “Spinheld Funding Corporation” and some of them took away armfuls. First place in category one went to Chris Field with a score of 34 off 13.7 he was followed by Bob Edwards scoring 33 off 12.2 and in third place was Nick Berry with 32 off 17.9, there were three players on a score of 32 and the position was resolved by count-back. Our category two winner and also the winner of the player of the month competition for February was Gordon Holloway scoring 32 off 18.6 he was followed in by the Captain Bill Parsons with 28 points off 19.5 we once again had three players tied on 27 but this time we were able to separate them by handicap which is our normal way. The nearest the pin prizes went to Paddy Kenmore on the 4th and the 11th, Roger Vicars on the 8th and Bob Edwards on the 14th, Bob also picked up the prize for being nearest the pin in two shots on the tenth, a remarkable achievement against a very strong wind using his driver and rescue club. Roger Vicars managed a two and our resident strong man Derek Gray once again hit the ball further than any one else on the 15th, the second time this year he has won the longest drive at this course. Oldham provided Russell Soper with a pocket of loose change via the football card, it is also worthy of note that Russell played in shorts this week the first of the season I think. Our Costa Blanca Premier League team secured their first win of the season claiming the scalp of the top of the shop team our old rivals “Pego GS” lets hope it is a the sign of things to come. On the Social scene the “Quiz with Supper” at the Restaurant “BAR NOU” in Senija was a great success, 54 people turned up to be fed and challenged by the devious brain of the quiz master, we are most grateful to Rosa and Pepe and all the staff at “Bar Nou”. Our next social event will be the ever popular St Georges Day Paella at “La Era” in Parcent on of course April 23rd at €13.00, contact Wendy to book your place. The next fixture is a visit to El Plantio to play for the “Spring Trophy” a pairs better ball competition on Wednesday 17th March. Please meet no later than 9.15 for a 10.00am start. As always guests are welcome subject to a current handicap certificate. To book in you can telephone 619325671 or visit the web site.

Are you in danger of losing your right to vote? Are you concerned about the exchange rate or your pension? If you don't register in the next 4 weeks you will not be able to take part in the most contested British General Election since World War II. Find out more by coming to the VIRGEN DEL CARMEN CULTURAL CENTRE in Torrevieja's central Calle RAMON GALLUD at 6 pm on WEDNESDAY 17th MARCH (ample car parking) where a team of English speaking experts will explain to you how important it is to vote and how you can cut through the paperwork to register in time. If you bring along your passport (or a copy with the number) and the details of your last address in the UK, the team will assist you with the form-filling there and then. Your vote will then count back in the Constituency where you used to live. There are over 2 million people outside the UK not registered to vote. If you are one of them you will kick yourself if the Government elected is not of your choice! Important Note At the last count only 2% of expats in Spain were registered to vote. There are 2.5 million expats worldwide and the greatest concentration of British Citizen in the world living outside the UK is in Murcia, Alicante and Valencia. Many people do not realize that they can still vote (so long as they have not been away from the UK for more than 15 years). The right to vote comes with being a British Citizen and an adult. Even those incarcerate in prison in the UK can vote. Helpful websites: www.aboutmyvote.co.uk and www.dontleaveyourvoteathome.com DON'T MISS THIS IMPORTANT MEETING!!! ENSURE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE!!! Centro Cultural “Virgen del Carmen” Wednesday 17th March at 18.00h.

The Plenary Meeting of the Orihuela Town Hall turns down suggestion to Open “Social Dining Room” for families during the Crisis (Comedor Social – Assístance for Needy Residents) Who believes today that poverty is something which only affects other countries is very much mistaken. Pedro Mancebo Gilabert, Orihuela Town Councillor and spokesman of the CLR party, informed us that according to the EC, the level of poverty is defined according to the number of families and poor people who have to survive on less than 60% of the average income of their country. Pedro Mancebo reported further that here in Spain this situation affects nearly 20% of households. It is estimated that more than half of the basic benefits provided by the social services are financed for the Town Halls who in return set aside between 6% and 10% of their annual budget for the abovementioned group. According to Spanish Law 7/85 Town Halls, whose town or district has more than 20,000 inhabitants, are obliged to grant social benefits. The Town Councillor informed us this is something he feels very strongly about and it is the CLR´s intention to make sure that needy families, especially ones with young children, in Orihuela and Orihuela Costa receive the support and assistance they need. One suggestion which Pedro Mancebo confirmed they proposed at the Plenary meeting which was held on Tuesday February 23, 2010, would be the organizing of what is referred to in Spanish as “comedor social” (which are in good old fashioned terms a soup kitchen) or social dinning room. Pedro Mancebo informed us further that at the moment there are approximately 24,000 seats nationwide in these “social dining rooms”. These are not only offered to people or families with little financial income, but are also available to people who have been excluded from normal society or who have suffered serious economical problems. The majority of these type of dining rooms are run and organized by charity organizations who rely on financial help from the public, subsidies and concerts for example. The majority of the meals provided in the dining rooms are free of charge. However, sometimes meals are offered at a symbolical price of 50 Cents, 1€ or 2€. Pedro Mancebo said the service offered in the dining rooms differs from town to town. Some offer a warm meal at lunchtime, others offer lunch and dinner, some offer the three daily meals i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner. “We believe this service would be a great benefit to needy families in our area, who through no fault of their own, in the majority of cases due to losing their jobs and the financial crisis, find themselves living on the or, in the worst case, below the breadline” commented Pedro Mancebo. The dining rooms also fulfil another important part of daily life. Not only do they provide the needy with a warm meal but they also offer people a step back onto the social ladder. They offer for example the elderly or unemployed a chance to meet and get together, groups of people who are usually cut off or not included in our daily comings and goings. The CLR spokeman at the Town Hall of Orihuela explained that the situation is aggravated by the number of foreigners or people in precarious economic situations (the unemployed, the elderly withdrawing pensions but not contributing etc.,) but utilize the social dining rooms to continue paying the accommodation and then save on the expenditure which was supposed to be for the meals. Pedro Mancebo commented further that due to the crisis the number of needy people and families has increased and it is the government´s obligation to supply meals and food to these people. During 2009 the economic crisis affected the most vulnerable within our society and was related directly to the increase in unemployment. This then naturally has a knock on effect and the demand for social services and assistance increases. This is a vicious circle for families, who for instance have lost their jobs and are confronted with payments for their houses or apartments, electricity, water and other monthly outgoings and cannot afford to buy food for their children and themselves. Pedro Mancebo concluded by reiterating again his and the CLR´s feelings regarding the members of our community who are living on or even below the breadline and for this reason this was one of the main points on the CLR party´s agenda to be presented at the Plenary Meeting at the Town Hall of Orihuela last 23rd February. The spokeman of the CLR Party was disappointed and surprised last week when the suggestion to open “a social dining room” to families and the needy during the crisis was turned down at the Plenary Meeting held at the Town Hall in Orihuela. The Town Councillor and spokesman of the CLR Party, Pedro Mancebo, argued that it should be possible in these difficult times to provide needy residents with a warm meal at a reasonable price every day as it is done in many other Spanish cities (e.g. Murcia or Elche). According to the social welfare spokeswoman, Araceli Vilella, of the PP Party, these social dining rooms function well in Madrid but one should not extrapolate these to the social requirements of Orihuela where the social network functions perfectly and then the dining rooms having to be run by volunteers. The spokesman of The Green Party, Manuel Culiañez, commented further that although he believes the Town Hall could do much more to assist the needy, his party do not feel that a social dining room would cover the needs and encourage social rehabilitation into society. The Green Party also agree with more personnel to assist and the requirement of funds for social welfare but from a more modern approach. Juan Jose Cubi, the spokesman of the Socialist Party argued that “soup kitchens” are antiquated and he believes if a family is having problems they would not like this to be known. He commented further the majority of people do not want the feeling that they are excluded from society and they prefer direct assistance. Pedro Mancebo commented that while listening to and taking on board the comments of the other parties, himself and the CLR party believe there is a big demand for these social dining rooms. The one existing in Elche, for instance, receives more than 100 people every day and it works perfectly to cover the needs of many people. Pedro commented “I feel that my colleagues in the other parties are missing the real point. I have actually seen the problems with my own eyes and believe me there is nothing embarrassing about making sure you and your children have a warm meal each day. It is not only needy families, through loss of jobs etc., who need assistance we also have many older residents whose pensions, through no fault of their own due to the financial climate, have been radically reduced. A few years ago these residents could live comfortably on their pensions here in Spain now they are really struggling”. Pedro concluded that the CLR Party still strongly believe there is a big need for these social dining rooms.

Last September, on a dreadfully wet day just like this last week, the Bishop, D. Rafael Palmero, of Orihuela-Alicante Diocesis, visited the Orihuela Costa for the blessing of the foundation stone of the new Ecumenical Temple and Parish church. Despite the weather the construction company, JOST, had erected a canopy and prepared some of the ground. JOST began on the site, Calle Talco in Villapiedra, this January and in February had set up the first “working certification”. Most of the excavations work for the basis, foundations, of the new ecumenical temple are almost complete and it is expected that by July this year the structure will be finished. JOST is the company which built the new church in Torrevieja “El Sagrado Corazon” near to the Virgen del Carmen theatre. The second and final stage of the construction is expected in 2011, and we hope to have it completed in 2012. In this ecumenical temple all Christian confessions will be able to hold their services and meetings. The organisers of the association –Grupo de Amigos de la Parroquia de Cristo Resucitado” - are extending an invitation to everybody to join them. Membership is five euros a month. 2,50 € for the EuroMillions Lottery and 2,50 € is given to the church ecumenical temple fund. To join you need to fill in a form. The forms are available in the three chapels of the parish (La Zenia, Cabo Roig or Campoamor) and any Sundays after the 11 h. Mass in La Zenia Chapel. Contact Luis (Spanish) and Antonia (English) for details concerning the Group. People can also ask for information by e-mail: in Spanish amigosparroquiacristoresucitado@hotmail.com and in English theresa.channell@ukonline.co.uk. Further updates on this ecumenical construction will follow each month from now on to keep the people living here on the Orihuela Costa informed of the progress of their temple.

When, with my wife and friends, I committed to going along to the Torrevieja Christian Fellowship last Saturday night to take in an evening of gospel music and entertainment with Paul Jones and his wife Fiona Hendley, I dont think that any of us quite knew what we were getting in to. Ninety minutes later, as we walked back out into the less than hospitable weather, I think that we all agreed that we had experienced an evening that we would long remember. From the sincere welcome that we all received on the door, the anticipation on the faces of the almost 400 strong crowd and above all, the genuine earthiness and non star status of the evenings top ‘performers', Paul Jones and his gorgeous wife Fiona Hendley. Of course Paul is a highly respected musician with a string of hits to his name. He had many years of success with Manfred Mann and the Blues Band not to mention a solo career and many notable performances as a serious actor on stage with the Royal National Theatre, on TV and in film. He also currently presents a BBC Radio 2 show. So I was very surprised not to be met by an entourage of managers and hangers on, and do you know, there wasn't even anyone around to carry their bags. Paul and Fiona arrived at the TCF totally unaccompanied. There were no airs and graces and both of them seemed more than pleased to talk and pose for photographs. Paul told me that the couple tour the UK giving talks on their faith, doing about 30 a year. Their presentations can take all forms, some include full blown laying-of-hands-on healing, others a talk with music and singing which was the theme at the TCF. He also proudly told me that Manfred fans go along to see him but often end the evening choosing to follow not him but God. Paul and Fiona were at the Torrevieja Christian Fellowship to give a talk about their faith and how they found God. The event, organised by Pastor Roy Davies, also featured songs from their gospel album ‘Personal'. It was when they were cast in the lead roles of 'Guys and Dolls' at the National that the two met and, in 1984, after giving up the stage to devote her life to Christianity, the pair went along as a Guest of Cliff Richard to the White City Stadium, where they saw the American evangelist Luis Palau. "Cliff took Fiona and I out to dinner after going to see Luis who made quite an impression on us all. That was our night; the night that we gave our lives to the Lord." Since those early days Paul and Fiona have now established themselves as evangelists in their own right recording gospel albums and performing regularly at church events. Paul and Fiona's testimony is entertaining, humorous and compassionate. Paul came to the faith from a background of intellectual arrogance whereas Fiona sought God from an early age. Thinking that she was a Christian, but surrounded by deception, she too hoped that success in show business would bring her happiness. Their witness tells how each of them found true happiness and real faith. As they brought their testimony to the TCF on Saturday night, they sang songs from their album while clearly explaining the Gospel message along the way. As we were promised by Pastor Roy Davies at the outset it really was en evening of entertainment not to be missed, and for a very pleasant change it was presented by one of showbiz's more mature, more articulate and higher profile Christian couples.

Euromillions Lottery Blog | Euro Millions Lottery Results It is true that most people enjoy playing lottery games, but what a lot of people don't know is that there are ways to improve the overall experience. Below we have listed the top 10 tips for those who are going to participate in a lottery. Of course no tip can increase your chances of winning, only more entries can do that, but they will help you avoid the sort of pitfalls that will make damage your odds of winning. Unlike games like poker and blackjack, lottery is game based purely on chance. There is very little, if any, skill involved. With that said, this does not mean that players can't use their heads and introduce some logic when buying a lottery ticket. While there are those who believe that lottery tips aren't worth the computer ink they are written with, there are those of us who hold the opposite opinion. In short, we are going to give you some logical tips to keep in mind when purchasing a ticket, and it is up to the player to decide what is best for them. 1.) First of all, there is no such thing as a lucky number. The date of your birth may have been a good day for you, but there is no mystical power assigned to it that makes it more likely to be a lotto winner. As well as that, most lotteries have more than 31 main balls, so if you restrict yourself to your date of birth, you are restricting the numbers you choose to a small percentile of the available numbers. Also, you should be aware that this is a strategy which many people follow, so there is a greater chance of you having to split the prize between more players if your numbers did come up! 2.) Avoid picking numbers that have recently been drawn. If 4, 5, 12, 23,24, and 41 have just been picked, it is unlikely that most of those numbers will show up in the same lotto draw together again. You can check the winning numbers here. 3.) Lotto draws are random, and don't often conform to patterns. Avoid drawing according to an arithmetic sequences, such as 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, or 01, 11, 21, 31, 41, 49. There just simply isn't that sort of order to the universe. Stay random, and mix up your evens and odds. 4.) Avoid making patterns on your playslip. While a diamond shape might look pretty on the slip, it probably won't go very far when it comes to making you the sort of lotto winner who can actually afford diamonds. 5.) It is almost impossible to determine where a random bolt of lightning will hit. It's a big world, and lightning has a lot of space to choose from. If you have a better chance of guessing right if reduce the size of the area that the lightning might hit in; maybe to a city block. This analogy works for lotto as well. Look for lotteries with better odds. The payoffs are usually smaller, but your chances of winning are improved. To help your choice, each lottery publishes its winning odds. If you'll play a lottery with better odds it will for sure increase your chance to win. 6.) While tip five advocates the virtues of looking for lotteries with better odds, lottos like “Powerball” and “Mega Millions” have the sort of jackpots that can not only change your life, but to keep your family in the money for generations. Taking chances on these big payoffs is never a bad idea. If you spend $100 on Powerball tickets, and win $100 million, that turns out to be a better investment than any blue chip stock that the market has to offer. Go for the Big Jackpots! 7. When you get ready to select your numbers, it's always a good idea to have a list of the previous numbers drawn. Scan the drawings to see how the Neighbor numbers have been doing. For instance the numbers drawn for New York Lotto54 April 6, 1996 was 1-10-12-29-38-50-43 then on April 10, 1996 the numbers 14-16-30-31-46-53-13 were drawn. If you look at the drawing you will see that the numbers (12 & 29) were the key Neighbor numbers to the very next drawing. The next drawing came in with (13 14 30 31) that's four numbers out of the seven numbers drawn. 8.) As amazing as it may seem you Do Not Need hundreds of past drawing in order to pinpoint the winning lottery numbers. At the very most a player could use (50) drawings but even this may be overkill. In the past players have done very well by using (10) drawings. Most of the time the numbers to be drawn next will have already appeared in the last ten drawings. If you track the numbers you will probably find that a few of them have been drawn quite often. If you find a few numbers that have been hot in the past but have not appeared for a couple of drawings, you should consider them. 9.) Repeating numbers are ones that seem to repeat themselves more frequently than any of the others. You should watch for numbers that have a history of repeating themselves. Just by knowing this could mean the difference between cashing a ticket or throwing it into a recycle bin. Lets say the number (12) has a history of repeating itself after being drawn and that it was just drawn today. You might want to use it as a key number when you wheel your selections. 10.) The 3 & 4 Digit Daily Numbers usually run in short term TRENDS. If a number has not been drawn for ten lottery drawings, it is a Due number. Include the due numbers in your sets, and after the number hits, stay with it for at least three days. Another way to pick up a number for your three or four digit set is by selecting the one that is more apt to repeat. You have two ways that this can be done. One of the methods is as written above; play the due lottery number that was just drawn to repeat. Use a number that has been drawn more frequently than any of the others. You can use the day of the month to help you in your number selections too. We could get into other issues, such as numbered balls vs. random number generators, but the truth is that luck has more to do with lottery numbers than science. In the past, people with way too much time on their hands have experimented with lottery balls of varying sizes and weights and found no appreciable difference in the results. So the next time your lucky numbers turn out to be not-so-lucky don't blame the balls, blame the numbers!

Alicante B 1 FC Torrevieja 0 ... Torry travelled to Alicante B on Sunday and they must have felt confident before the game of getting a result from the side who are currently just one place off the bottom of the table. In fact Alicante hadn't won a game since last November, when they beat rivals Elche Illicitano on their own turf. Although the latter are just one point and one place above them in the table as it stands. Torrevieja, for their part, were not in the best of form themselves, not having won in five games and just 8 points off the drop zone. But even so, this is a game that they should take maximum points from. But, and I know it's the mode to blame the referee, this time the ref was so poor that he was booed off pitch by both sets of fans. As it was Torry went down to a penalty 15 minutes into second half that was efficiently despatched and left Torry chasing the game with ten men once again. Next week Torry entertain La Nucia who have hit some form of late and occupy the next place up in the league from Torry – three points would surely see them safe from the drop and allow the squad to relax a little before building again for next year.

More ups and downs as the Blades`teams enjoyed the highs and lows of another busy weekend of Federation league action.... SUFC ALEVINES (U12s) 5 – 0 GRANJAR Shirt Sponsors: Bad Boyz Motos, Los Montesinos Tracksuits: The Leader/Excite FM In blustery conditions, this was a classic game of 2 halves. The first half, with the wind at their backs the Blades played some quite exquisite football, linking together move after move of quality passing football. The 2nd half was the complete opposite with the boys struggling to find any rhythm and too many passes going astray, too often. Jorge Galdames scored the 1st of his 3 goals on 12 minutes controlling a right wing cross on the left edge of the area and firing back across the keeper in text book fashion. 9-year-old Kian Burns added a 2nd five minutes later, despatching a wonderful left-footed volley past a rooted goalkeeper. Galdames then scored from the best move of the match – an interchange between 2 defenders to Johan Montoya who picked the ball up on the halfway line before running at the Granjar back line before playing a slide-rule pass between 2 of the defenders for the young Chilean striker to run onto and slot home in some style. He completed his hat-trick on 56 minutes having been played in once again behind what was proving to be a resilient Granjar defence. Having seen an earlier effort soar over the bar, Tyler Burns made no mistake with what was to be the last kick of the game, curling a long-range free-kick up and over the wall into the bottom corner. Whilst possibly not the best performance of the season in terms of quality football, it was another good defensive display with Jamie Dumbarton, Dennis Bramble, Agustin Duhalde and Maxim Markelov looking assured throughout. Onwards and upwards – as they say! CATRAL 1 – 2 SUFC INFANTILES (U14s) Shirt Sponsors: VillaSolera Tracksuits: VistaGraffix A spirited and much improved team performances from the Infantiles saw them take all 3 points in a game they dominated from start to finish. Whilst the scoreline may indicate a close game of football, it was anything but with the Blades completely in control throughout. Goals from Alberto Elo and strike partner Jose Perez gave United a lead there never looked likely to lose. Several other efforts went close or hit the woodwork before Catral scored with a long-range effort that was probably their only real chance of the game to ensure a nervy last few minutes for travelling Blades' supporters and players alike. RABALOCHE 1 – 0 SUFC JUVENILES (U19s) Shirt Sponsors: Vincent Real Estate, Benijofar Whilst they will consider themselves unlucky to have lost, this was a vast improvement on performances of recent weeks, with every player giving his all. The only difference between the 2 sides was the one goal conceded after an unfortunate defensive slip by a defence who had played so well throughout the game. The Blades had chances of their own, but it was not to be. Perhaps a few more performances like this will see United climb the league to a position that reflects better the abilities of this young team. OTHER RESULTS CATRAL 6 – 0 SUFC CADETES (U16s) SAN MIGUEL 8 – 1 SUFC ALEVIN “B” (U12s/10s) TOURNAMENT ENTRIES With entries now having been confirmed for SUFC Spain league teams to compete in Easter and Summer tournaments against a host of Spanish La Liga teams, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, there´s never been a better time to join the programme. A number of places are still available for quality players looking to further their football education. For further information on the SUFC Spain programme, contact Programme Director, Robbie Burns on 692 507 439, or e-mail at robbie.burns@sufcspain.com.

Javea 2 Alone 0 ... Alone travelled to Javea knowing that a win would see them leapfrog their hosts and move them that little bit further away from the relegation places that they sat on top of, in 16th position, prior to this encounter. Alone haven't won in the league since November while Javea boosted their confidence last week by convincingly beating Aspe away from home but their recent form is comparable to Alone's atrocious season so far. Alone's problem this season has been too many draws and their lack of firepower up front is highlighted by them having the second worst goals for total in league. A delayed kick off because of a kit clash meaning alone had to borrow Javea's change strip only delayed the inevitable as a Penalty, on 7 minutes which after a foul on a Javea forward, which Valentin scored had a familiar feeling for the travelling fans. Not long after, Juan Marti shot from 20 yards just skimming the crossbar for the home side but the warning signs were there and on 35 minutes Ivars scored the second and crucial goal for Javea. A few minutes later Ivars for Javea pushed it past the Alone ‘keeper, who brought him down resulting in a red card. Michel came on to replace him and his first touch was to save the penalty meaning Alone at least had a chance of getting back into the game. After the break Javea pressed forward and could a have scored more but as the game wore on it looked as if the two goals would be more than enough. On 88 minutes Javea could have added to their total but Bonmati put it past they post and Alone could have pulled one back in the dying moments but it was ruled offside. Next week they face fellow strugglers Alfaz who had an impressive win on Sunday against Aspe that hasn't hurt their fight for Preferente survival.

SANTA POLA CF 1 - 0 CD EL CAMPELLO ...A well taken first half finish by midfielder Marcos extended Santa Pola's unbeaten sequence to six and in the process earned his team three valuable points. El Campello were never at the races in an opening period the home side dominated but could only muster a single goal where five or six would have been a more accurate representation of their superiority. The visitors clung on grimly before staging a rally of their own in an increasingly fractious second forty five minutes. There was nothing wrong whatsoever with the Santa Pola supply line to forwards Paloma, Adriano and the excellent Pedro Miralles, each in turn had chance after chance to put the game beyond El Campello inside the first ten minutes. In the end, Marcos showed the profligate strikers how to do it by latching onto a through ball from Pedro to slip the ball past Campello goal-keeper Jordi a quarter of an hour in. The early goal visibly settled the ‘Pola nerves and three times shortly after they could have added to the lead with moves that developed down their right flank. Monsa found Carlos Fernandez in the Campello box and the hard working American midfielder touched the ball just over, before a diving header by Adriano flew wide of Jordi's right hand post. For the majority of the half, Santa Pola's back four were relegated to interested spectators, on the rare occasions Campello built attacks, full back Jon Ander and Chinche combined well to feel danger man Jon, every time though the attentive Julio denied the visitors best player. A slip by Miguel Blasco deep in his own half almost gifted Chechu and undeserved equalizer, a brilliant recovery rescued his own mistake and a corner was the upshot. A stuttering Campello effort wasn't helped when first choice forward Lucho limped off to be replaced by Lopez after only half an hour. Santa Pola looked great value for the lead but really should have been out of sight at the break. Half time 1-0. Very obviously Campello coach Jose Campillo must have had cross words with his charges or put something extra in their mid-match cuppas, because they looked a team transformed when play recommenced. The home defence was made to work much harder as the visitors edged the midfield skirmishes and created much more than previously. A card less opening period soon gave way to various flashes of yellow as La Ribera referee Rodriguez Castello booked Carlos Fernandez for a nothing challenge on Chechu followed soon after by Campello's frustrated striker Jon who felled Fernandez with a flailing arm. Both sides traded substitutions, ‘Pola in an attempt to put daylight between them and their rivals and El Campello to try and grab a fortuitous point. With the tension rising, for Santa Pola a single goal is rarely sufficient, both sides were guilty of one or two stiff and unpunished challenges. Mario Fernandez was introduced up front for Santa Pola and immediately made a difference, holding the ball up well and twice setting up Paloma with intelligent flicks. Attempting to run the clock down with the ball near the corner flag, the burly Californian was crudely scythed down by Caturla who was lucky to stay on the field. Eventually, just as it was getting dark, or so it seemed, Sr. Castello blew after what appeared an inordinate amount of additional time. Final score 1-0 and Santa Pola gained revenge for their first defeat of the season against today's opposition back in October.

Horadada 0 Pinoso 0 ...Anselmo Serrano's mid table side claimed a valuable point against Horadada in a 0-0 stalemate at the Ikomar Stadium in the Preferente League on Sunday. The home side could have gone ahead after 8 minutes when Campillo just failed to get on the end of a Nacho cross from the right after the midfielder had been put through by a good ball from Ivan Lopez, but he failed to direct his header which was easily collected by the Pinoso keeper Paco. Jonny then went close for Pinoso 10 minutes later as he picked up a cross from a corner in a good position on the right of the area but his powerful strike was turned round the post by an in form Juanjo. Miguel Angel was lucky to stay on the park on the half hour after he hauled down Nacho who appeared through on goal. The referee, who had a poor game, deemed the offence punishable by just a yellow despite the bulky centre half being the last Pinoso defender. Dani's curling free-kick looked to have keeper Paco beaten but it flew narrowly past the right-hand upright. Shortly before the break the home side came close to another breakthrough when Ivan Lopez brought connected with Josan's corner but his close range effort rebounded to safety off the keeper's legs. The second period produced much of the same with the Reds shading for long periods of the half Unfortunately their scoring touch seems to have gone missing and with the lanky Pinoso defenders dominating at the back there were few real opportunities for the home forwards to pull the trigger. Indeed the best chance of the half fell to the visitors when full back Perico ran through the Reds midfield and defence only to be denied by a fine diving save from Juanjo to ensure the match finished goalless. The result was perhaps a fair reflection on the lack of both sides attacking abilities.

Elche 2 Hercules 0 ... If nothing else exciting or meaningful happens to Elche this season, this dramatic result says it all. In the same fixture back in October at Hercules' Rico Perez stadium in Alicante, the home side's resounding 3- 0 win meant the sack for Elche's popular coach Claudio, so serious is it seen to abjectly lose to your local rivals, the league-leading deadly rivals Hercules. This defeat will not precipitate the same fate to Hercules coach, but do not be in any doubt – Elche richly deserved this prestigious win. In a surprise reshuffle at the back, after only conceding three goals in six games Illicitano's coach Claudio brought back Tena in the middle of the back alongside Samuel, and also new boy Ripa at left back for Raul Fuster. Acciairi, having signed a new two year contract this week lined up with ‘El Loco' Wakaso, Usero, Saul and Juli in a strong midfield, and upfront? Yes, at last our mighty Molina, Elche's eleven goal hero returned earlier than expected from injury, no place for poor tireless workhorse Trejo who has manfully shouldered the burden in Molina's absence. Elche's huge Martinez Valero stadium was buzzing as noon approached, with the car park full of Alicantino coaches as befits a team at the top of the league aiming for La Liga. With 18,704 deeply partisan and very noisy aficionados inside , the atmosphere was electric, upper and lower tiers used for the first time this season. For Hercules an early diving header from Delibasic was pushed past the post by Captain Caballero in Elche's goal, but after but only sixteen minutes the Illicitanos were ahead. With his strong back close in to goal Molina firmly held off his marker, and laid the ball off perfectly to Saul whose low hard cross was met unopposed at the far post by Usero to put Elche 1 – 0 up. A terrific start for the home side, and not one that could have been expected by many. Now – where were the league leaders? Surely they wouldn't take this lying down? It was Elche who continued the first half in the ascendancy, with Juli clear through on the half-hour, only goalkeeper Calatayud rushing from his line just in time to smother the shot. Wakaso was cruelly chopped down in full flight as he flew down the left wing, as the Hercules frustration began to show with bookings for the visitors. But on thirty-seven minutes – cometh the hour, cometh the man. Saul fed Juli who cut in from the right touchline, delaying his pinpoint pass to the far post until the last minute. There top gun Molina was on hand to crash the ball into the net for Elche's second. Wow, you couldn't make it up! 2 - 0 against the great Hercules! Man mountain Molina held it up again, this time for Wakaso to shoot wide (he couldn't hit a barn door if the truth be known) but Elche went into the interval in the driving seat, and it has to be said – well worth their lead! Only two minutes into the second half and a Juli – Molina – Usero move ended with the latter's shot just past the post. Hercules did have the ball in the net from a Delibasic header following a free kick , but it was rightly disallowed, it was miles offside. Willy Caballero is back to his imperious best for Elche and put in a tremendous second half performance with his speed off his line and power in the air. It was the Franjiverdes who looked more likely to score more as the second half wore on, Molina missing a great opportunity for a third when put through by Saul. The ever-wayward Wakaso was booked, again, as usual, we all held our breath, but it wasn't a bad one; in fact for a local derby as important as this, the game was played in a good spirit, three minor bookings for each side. Coach Jose Bordelas was confident enough to boldly take off Saul and put on Trejo on 67 minutes, although shortly after Molina went off for Raul Fuster to a terrific cheer: it is great to see him back, how Elche have missed his powerful leadership upfront - and his goals! The Herculean bandwagon we have observed from our palm trees with envy this season just never got going, but you can only play as well as the opposition lets you. The Illicitanos never gave their table-topping neighbours room to breath, the home defence was superb, all five including Willy deserving praise: Tena was terrific in the middle and perhaps Elche have found a star in Ripa at left back. The hard-working Elche midfield dominated the game, but it was a terrific all-round performance This moves the Illicitanos up to eighth with this richly-deserved win. In yet another local six pointer next week Elche are away to Villareal ‘B', one pace ahead. But for the moment in our province it is bragging rights this week to Elche – and the Illicitanos deserve ‘em! Mucho Elche! Photos Mark Welton www.foto23.info

The Leader cut off date has been changed to Thursday at 10.00 hrs consequently the Friday results are one week old when you read them, however we should be back to normal next week. Thursday began the bowling week with the Fed Fours entertaining our neighbours La Siesta we had an excellent mornings bowls with San Luis winning 5 - 3 with shots 67 - 58 Winners were Sheila Cox, Colin Highland, John Withers, al Hughes. 24 - 14. with the draw Mel Highland, Dane Howard, Ian Young, David Whitworth. 23 - 23. Friday the 20th the LIONS were home to Quesada Swallows which they won 12 - 2. Shots 139 - 76. Winners were Sheila Cox, Charlie Marigold, John Haigh. 23 - 10. John Withers, Brian Sherry, Peter McEneaney.17 - 12. Freda Wilson, Derek Armstrong. Mal Hughes. 35 - 16. Graham Bird, Derrick Cooper, Phil Morrachan. 23 - 12. Mel Highland, Jim Wilson, Val Sherry. 25 - 7. In the afternoon the Tigers were at home to El Rancho which they won 11 - 3 with shots 126 - 84. Winners were Colin Potter, Ged Henly, Keith Lowery 25 - 9. June Whitworth, Dane Howard, David Whitworth. 26 - 18. Irene Everett, June McMillan, Ivor Everett. 28 - 5. Pat Herman, Roy Herman, Ian Ross. 19 - 10. The PUMAS were away to Horadada Gladiators losing 12 - 2 with shots 103 - 94 down. The winners were Jaqui Campbell, Ken Dullaway, John Malden. 20 - 10. saving the day. Sunday the 28th. the re-arranged match with La Marina Sharks took place at San Luis, the result shows why they are top of the league. The Sharks won 13 - 1 with a shot advantage of 120 - 76.Charlie the captain said we were totally outbowled. The team that saved the whitewash were Allen Bowen, Brian Sherry, Peter McEneaney. 12 - 12. Monday the KLINGONS were away at Quesada where they enjoyed a good win 10 - 4 with a shot advantage of 105 - 88. Winners were Ian Young, Derrick Cooper, Val Sherry. 20 - 13. Allen Bowen, Mike Smith, Phil Morrachan. 22 - 17. Bob White, Brian Sherry, Peter McEneany. 21 - 8. Sheila Cox. Keith Roberts, John Haigh. 20 - 14. The VULCANS entertained Monte Mar Novilleros at home winning 8 - 6. with shots 103 - 85. Winners were Doreen Francis, Colin Potter, Walter Oakes. 17 - 12. Irene Everett, Allan Rossiter, John Featherstone. 20 - 7. Marie Henley, Pauline Morris, Ged Henley. 26 - 11. The TIGERS were away to our neighbours La Siesta Silvers where they lost out 5 - 9 with shots against them of 110 - 91. Winners were Colin Potter, Brian Taylor, Geo Gandy. 15 - 13. June Whitworth, Dane Howard, David Whitworth. 18 - 17. the draw was Irene Everett, Ray Robson, Ivor Everett. 20 - 20. Tuesday the Klingons made the journey to Country Bowls on a very bleak, cold and rainy day, however the result proved to be worth it winning 12 - 2 with shots 123 - 89. The winners were Terry Hubball, Sonny Cavanagh, Val Sherry. 26 - 14. Maxine Wright, Brian Sherry, Peter McEneany. 23 - 15. Pat Bird, Ken Dullaway, Rod Wright. 20 - 11. Tony Davies, Graham Bird, Keith Lowry. 21 - 9. Kevin Bell. Derrick Cooper. John Haigh. 19 - 18. Wednesday the Fed Fours played at home to El Rancho completing the whitewash with maximum points 8 - 0. and shots of 71 - 41. Winners were June Whitworth, Dane Howard, Ian Young, Dave Whitworth.24 - 10. Audrey Ford, Colin Highland, John Withers, Derrick Cooper. 26 - 16. Sheila Cox, Rod Wright, Allan Rossiter, Phil Morrachan. 21 - 15. We had the usual Chicken Drives with the Sunday winner Barrie B. on 20 points with the egg cup going to Eric. Tuesday Bill scooped the pool with 22 points with second spot going to Babs Shand. Everyone is asking how John Thom is, so I thought I would update you. First off both him and Francis are in high spirits and seeing progress all the time. He attends physiotherapy 5 days per week , he is now standing and moving about with assistance. He still has a little pain from time to time. If he is up to it he would like to see some bowling on Club Finals day and both him and Francis wish to thank all of you for your support. For further information please contact Ian Young 966 796 105

SOUTHERN LEAGUE A Quesada Swallows away to San Luis Lions. Beautiful warm sunshine, blue skies, What more can we possibly want - of course to win the game of bowls we were about to play at San Luis. Although everyone enjoyed their game, we were hardly victorious. The Swallows only won on 1 rink, the Lions won on 5 rinks. Shots for QBC 76 and 139 shots for San Luis. Game points 2 for and 12 against. SOUTHERN LEAGUE B Quesada Swifts played La Siesta Gold. Although 3 of Quesada's players did not turn up for play, the remaining Swifts fought valiantly, but had to admit defeat in the end. Final result 2 pts to QBC and 12 pts to La Siesta. WINTER LEAGUE Quesada at home to Javea Green. A very close home match against league leaders Javea Green. 3 games could not have been closer with QBC shading 2 of them & Javea just holding on to the first. In a most amazing match the team of D. Donovan, G. Carnell, D. Leeming, D. Sale went into a 18-0 lead against N. Cole & his team. They closed the gap to 18-16 and in a nail biting finish, the home side held their nerve to run out 20-18 victors. J. Northend, J. Parkes, M. Lamberton, P. Parkes picked up 8 shots over the last 3 ends to match victory 21-20. J. Muldoon, N. Lamberton, R. Ford, J. Riley fought hard to keep in front, but just lost out on the last end 14-15. On the 4th game the visitors were always in control & won 24-10. Match pts Quesada 6 and 4 points to Javea. An encouraging team performance against very strong opponents. The BERLEEN match was even closer with a 7 pt. victory for the Quesada team and equal shots for the Javea team, therefore sharing game pts. Games were played in splendid spirits and rounded off with an excellent meal in 'The Club'. SABA LEAGUE A - The Pearls hosted the San Luis Klingons. Not a particularly good result, but well done to everyone. QBC won on 2 rinks and lost the other 4 rinks. 88 shot for and 105 against; 4 pts to the Pearls and 10pts to the Klingons. SABA LEAGUE B - The Diamonds played at home against Greenland Yellow and also won on 2 rinks and lost on 4 rinks. 94 shots for and 121 shots against; 4 pts for and 10 pts. against. All we can for both games is that the weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed a friendly game with our opponents and a satisfying drink after the game. A rearranged game saw Quesada Pearls playing Horadada Falcons at Horadada; and yet again it had to be played on a most disagreeable day. the weather was cold, rainy, and thoroughly miserable, all that can be said that some of us adapted to the conditions better than others. D. Sale, D. Leeming, V. Sale 31-11; J. Muldoon, C. Chapman, J. Parkes 15-27; J. Northend, P. Parkes, N. Lamberton 19-6; J. Brinton, J. Dunning, A. Flitman 20-15; N. Birch, N. Baigent, R. Pinfold 24-4; D. Washbourn, M. Lamberton, T. Brinton 9-26; The end result favoured Quesada and was 118 shots for and 89 against; 10pts for 4 pts against. Another rearranged match was between Quesada Swifts and Mazarron. The Mazarron Green had to be cleared of excess water and therefore held up play for 1 hour. Congrats to S. Gray, M. Lockley and J. Monks 19-15 and M. Humphries, K. Kirton,A. Thomas 20-13, winning teams for Quesada and hard luck to the other rinks who tried very hard. At the weekend some of the club championship semi-finals are being played, don't forget support is always appreciated and welcome!! Anything else you need to know ring Glynis on 965 72 4885.

SABA Discovery League - Monte Mar Picadors v La Siesta Pioneers Monte Mar Picadors – 123 shots - 14 points La Siesta Pioneers – 64 shots - 0 points The Picadors had a convincing win this week against La Siesta Pioneers. Although our opponents started impressively, they were unable to sustain the pressure and the Picadors team eventually won on all rinks. The shots tally indicates the level of superiority, but our opponents never stopped trying. Barry Woodfine's team were holding nine shots on the last end, when Pioneer skip Terry Worth delivered his last wood and cut down the margin to six, so well done Terry! Found the frontier first ….. Sheila Bromley, Danny King and David Eades Rita Towle, Dave Buckland and Ben Bromley Val Hyman, Ted Hyman and Mike Farrelly Andy Gavin, Dave Melville and Harry Dobson Marilyn Gibbons, Terry Errington and Ian Gibbons Pauline Woodfine, Bill Judd and Barry Woodfine Monte Mar Novilleros v La Siesta Pioneers Monte Mar Novilleros – 87 shots - 4 points La Siesta Pioneers – 115 shots - 10 points No reports received from the Novilleros this week. The right spirit ….. Tallo, Lynne and Colin Armitage Ron Campbell, Sue Bounds and Janet Gatward Still on a quest…. Joe Allen, Gordon Lee and Arthur Buxton Babs Caiger, David Smy and Les Bounds Pam Lee, Bill Clifton Jim Ure, John Caiger and Roy Clayson Monte Mar Novilleros v San Luis Vulcans Monte Mar Novilleros – 88 shots - 6 points San Luis Vulcans – 103 shots - 8 points In the Pink ….. Jim Ure, John Jowett and Roy Clayson Ron Campbell, Sue Bounds and Janet Gatward David Smy, Brian and Pat Harman Never felt more like singing the blues…. Tallo, Lynne and Colin Armitage Pam Lee, Gordon Lee and Arthur Buxton Tony Pardo, Bill Clifton and Les Bounds Southern League – Division ‘A' - Monte Mar Matadors v Emerald Isle Sapphires Monte Mar Matadors – 119 shots – 10 points Emerald Isle Sapphires - 83 shots – 4 points Sparkling brightly…. Marilyn Gibbons Ben Bromley and Ian Gibbons Val Hyman, June Young and Pat Harman Brian Harman, Ted Hyman and Alan Ashberry Stan Routledge, The Scribe and Harry Dobson Green with envy…. Sheila Bromley, Mike Farrelly and David Eades Denise Ashberry, John Corbet and Dave Melville Southern League – Division ‘A' - Monte Mar Matadors v San Miguel Cougars Monte Mar Matadors – 115 shots – 10 points San Miguel Cougars - 98 shots – 4 points Not much to say really, except that we now have 20 points from a possible 28 over the last few days. Good wins for the majority, hard luck for the other two teams. Roaring loudly…. Sheila Bromley, Mike Farrelly and David Eades Denise Ashberry, John Corbet and Dave Melville Fred Taylor, Ted Hyman and Brian Harman, Stan Routledge, The Scribe and Harry Dobson Slightly mauled…. Marilyn Gibbons, Ben Bromley and Ian Gibbons (beaten at last!!) Val Hyman, June Young and Pat Harman Southern League – Division ‘B' - Monte Mar Toreadors v La Marina Dolphins Monte Mar Toreadors – 97 shots – 2points La Marina Dolphins - 137 shots – 12 points We cant seem to get the right results since the new year, but we all had a good friendly game as we always do with La Marina. Only one winning rink and one close, but we will keep on trying. Swimming nicely …. Sandra Errington, Pauline Merry, and Terry Errington Sunk in the deep blue yonder…. Tony Pardo, Gordon Lee and Bill Judd Sue Bounds, Les Bounds and Gordon Hemming Pauline Woodfine, Pam Lee and Barrie Woodfine David Smy, Gordon Fisher and Idwal Roberts John Chapman, Rita Towle and Arthur Buxton Southern League – Division ‘B' - Monte Mar Toreadors v El Rancho Monte Mar Toreadors – 85 shots – 6 points El Rancho - 108 shots – 8 points Well some game this was, with five rinks ending within four shots of each other they could have gone either way, but what a great game and a good result. Thanks to the friendly rink of Dave, John and Chris, well played everyone. Mustangs all …. John Chapman, Rita Towle and Arthur Buxton Babs Caiger, Gordon Lee and Bob Mallett Pauline Woodfine, Gordon Fisher and Barrie Woodfine Corralled…. Sandra Errington, Pauline Merry, and Terry Errington Pam Lee, John Caiger and Bill Judd Sue Bounds, Les Bounds and Gordon Hemming Monte Mar Winter Triples League – Sponsored by 121 Car Hire A full league table will appear in next week's paper. Other Club News - Coaching School Club coaching, conducted by Bill Young has recommenced on Sunday mornings, and existing and prospective new members are invited to contact Bill on 966796851, or E-mail to info@montemarbowls.com, the first course is full, but spaces are available on subsequent courses. If you have never bowled before come along, you may surprise yourself. Scribe Sponsored by Super Valu Supermarkets

Friday 26th Feb. Home game today with our visitors from down the road at Mazarron. It was a beautiful day and many pairs of shorts were in evidence, the legs looking relieved to be having an airing. Whatever it was it had the required effect on our squad and we had a good win. Shots were very close so it was no walkover, but we managed to win on 4 rinks and narrowly missing to win the 5th. Shots were 100 for 94 against, points went 10 for 4 against, a good day for us. I think our captain is having a senior moment just now, forgetting to include himself on the team sheet earlier in the week and nearly turning up in orange socks today !! Never mind Mike it does get easier the older you get. Winners today were, Mike Petty, Ian Boothroyd & Brian Vincent. Ken Combstock, Brian Jones & Pat Rafferty. Di Harwood, Neville Pulfor & Roger Hodgson and Pauline Rafferty, Tony Sambrook &Tony Coombes. Tues 2nd Mar. Rearranged game today because of a funeral yesterday for a member of our opponents from The Emerald Isle. It looked like rain as the game started but held off until we were having our refreshments afterwards. The Neptunes brought a strong team and managed to stick their Trident well and truly up us. Our results these days are like a hotel lift, up down, up down! Our captain (in the correct attire today) and his team were the only rink with a result and that was a draw. So well done to the Neptunes, Maybe we all need to turn up on coaching days. Result was 13 points against, 1 point for, shots 127 against, 73 for. John Taylor, Pauline Rafferty & Mike Petty saving us from the “whitewash”. Things will probably change when I go back to the UK for a week in the middle of March. Then we will know where the problem is. Back to normal times next week, Kevin is back from a Jollie !!

After hearing the rain hammering down for most of the night we feared our game at Mar Menor would not take place but as we gathered for breakfast at the Lo Crispin Tavern the sky began to clear and the sun appeared. Upon arrival at the course we were told that we would not be allowed to take buggies onto the fairways. We supposed this was because of the heavy rain the night before but we found out that it was a policy of the course not to allow buggies onto the fairways in any conditions. This did not go down well with the members of the society and I for one could be seen clutching an arm full of clubs as I limped to my ball. I have bad knees and this amount of walking did nothing for my game. On 3 occasions I hit my second shot into a bunker and rather than walk all the way back to the buggy for my sand wedge I attempted to hit out of the bunkers with the wrong club which was a mistake. However we got through the day although there were a few sore legs and backs as most of us are not in the first flush of youth. The course played remarkably well after the heavy rain and the greens got faster as the day progressed and we did complete our Stableford singles match. The results were; Gold Category - 1st Bob Berry with 31 points, 2nd Tony French with 30 points 3rd Ian Watson with 29 points Silver Category 1st Dave Lewis with 35 points, 2nd Bill Mackay with 30 points 3rd Alan Crain with 28 points Bronze Category 1st Dave Roebuck with 36 points, 2nd David Dodd with 35 points 3rd Roger Eaglestone with 34 points Nearest the pin prizes went to; Hole 2 Ian Watson, Hole 8 Meirion Roberts, Hole 14 Brian Leys, Hole 17 Tom Johnston This was our best turn out of the year and a full complement of 44 players teed off. Our next meeting will be on the 17th of March back at our home course Roda.

There was no report for last week as we lost 2 days to rain which, in my memory, is the first time that we have lost two days in one week. What is happening to the Mediterranean climate. The cancellations meant that our Walker Cup match between England & The Rest of the World had to be run over two weeks much to organiser Dee Biggerstaff's chagrin. Normally this three day format starts with Greensomes on a Monday but, because of the Monday cancellation, we started off last Wednesday with the Better Ball matches which ended up with honours shared 4-4. There was a Twos Club for a double kitty which was shared by Hugh Whorriskey, Mike Chapman & Lindsay Forbes. There was no golf on Friday because of the rain, so on Monday we played last week's postponed Greensomes which again resulted in a tight match with ROW winning 4-3 to take a meager one point advantage into Friday's singles. Wednesday's competition was our Monthly Medal and this proved a difficult format with no golfer beating par. The best 2 rounds of the day were from Lindsay Forbes & Olga Haubner with nett 73s. John Wheeler had a nearly round coming in with a nett 74 with a 10 on his card at the 4th!. It was a profitable day in the 2s Club with only Barry Holtham & Reg Akehurst managing to sink a putt on the Par 3s. Full scores as follows; Cat 1. 1. Lindsay Forbes 73, 2. John Wheeler 74, 3. Mick Brentnall 79. Cat 2. 1. Olga Haubner 73, 2. Mike Chapman 77 (on back nine), 3. Linda Ottway 77. 2s Club. Barry Holtham & Reg Akehurst. On Friday we finished off our Walker Cup competition with the singles match play between England & The Rest of the World. Twelve matches teed off & in another very tight series of games ROW triumphed by one point to come out overall winners over the 3 days by 15.5 to 13.5. This was a great delight to ROW skipper Lindsay Forbes for whom this was the first time in several attempts he had captained a winning team. Well done Lindsay, the jinx is broken. Doug Wright.

A great turn out for us on Thursday at Roda, 25 in all came out in the nice sunny weather. It was a change, first time my pullover came off in weeks. Lets hope this is a slight turn to better weather. Congratulations to Maurice Flint who last week, with a month in hand won this seasons Presidents Trophy with 102 points. Still there is a fair old game going on for the other three top places, the members in this fight are: Derek Bowen, Denis MaCormack, Stu Davy, Ray Pryce, George Thomas, and Steve Woods. Presentations were given out by captain Derek Bowen . Thanks to James, also Julie, and Denise at Gogarty's. Thanks to, Mike Dyett, Brian Newton and for help with committee duties. Also thanks to Mick Reeves from Mick the Grip, who came in to help check the score cards. Results: Winner with 40 point Maurice Flint, Two's comp: Maurice Flint, and Gabby Kelly. N/T/P No 2 Maurice Flint, No 7 John Hammerton, No 11 Harry McArdle, No 13 Steve Locke. Important notice Captains change over, bookings for Benidorm have been opened to guests. For cost details ring Derek, Maurice or Eric. Information is on the notice board at Gogarty's. The society knock out competition is now entering its final stages, the draw as taken place and you need to check your opponent. The first name drawn out is responsible for contacting the other player and arranging the game. Details of the draw are in Gogarty's. All final round results to be in by 25th March 2010. Please return your results to me, Eric so your position can be up dated on the play off list. The committee as considered the possibility that if the game is all square on the last hole, then the most holes on the back nine will decide the winner. Also if a player does not turn up for his or game then they will forfeit the game. Dates for your diary Wednesday 10th March at Roda first tee 10-40 meet at Gogarty's 8-30 Friday 19th March at Hacienda Riquelme, First tee 10-00 meet at Gogarty's 8-00. Please note that on 31st March 2010, we are organising a Charity Golf day for baby Pablo. We will be playing a pairs Texas Scramble Details are in many businesses in the La Zenia Area, and Gogarty's Also the Leader Newspaper, re Pablo's illness. Friday 30th April, at Roda. End of Season golf day. I am reporting this event to you early as we need your names NOW to enter this event. closing date will be 31st March. We have 40 spaces for members. We have booked Roda first tee 10-00, to play nine holes, then a light lunch, followed by 18 holes in the afternoon. Presentations will be made at Roda, then return to Gogarty's to meet up with your partner, wives, husband, girl friend to enjoy a buffet and entertainment for the evening. Don't forget to bring your change of clothes at Roda. Cost is being negotiated at the moment; we should have some details nearer the date. Keep at look out on the notice board at Gogarty's There is also two Saturdays in the month, golf with Maurice, please contact Maurice if you want to play. Guests are welcome. To all our games, clubs can be hired. All information is on the notice board outside Gogarty's. Contact numbers: Eric 616-681-273, Maurice 690-268-711, Ray 638-382-297. Eric A Lucas, secretary

Don't panic, there's a reporter in Alnwick !! You would think with all these members and computers they would be queuing up for this job, but no, so it's back to old faithful !! Well Done to Steve Hibberd for doing such a good job for over a year on top of the other jobs he's involved with. George Rothwell was first in with the info on the S.A.B.A. Enterprise League for his Apollos against San Miguel Meteors. 10 - 4 it ended for La Siesta and quite convincing some of these scores were as well. J. Rothwell, P. Barber, D. Livesey. 27 - 9. P. Rhodes, S. Hibberd, H. Rhodes. 32 - 12. C. Jackson, D. Buchanan, B. Fraser. 22 - 12. K. Parker, B. Gardiner, J. Cooper. 15 - 10. J. Gardiner, I. Kenyon,J. Mullarkey. 15 - 16. S. Chorley, C. Chorley, D. Eccles. 15 - 19. So that was 126 - 78 for the 'good guys', but next time they could easily overturn that because it's always a fight against S.M. In the Southern League, Margaret Hunter's Golds were away at La Marina in a rearranged game against the Dolphins last Wednesday. L.M. are as hard as San Miguel to get any points off at home, so to come away with a win on three rinks is a very fair result, even if two of the wins were only by one shot. Hopefully Fridays game against San Luis is a bit easier, time will tell ? The Silvers played Monte Mar Toreadors on Friday in the Southern League and the result given to me don't match up to the result sheet, so I'll tell you what is on the sheet scorewise and Captain Steve can fight it out with the powers that be !! S. Oram, V. Mahomet, I. Kenyon. 43 - 6. A. Heath, R. Heath, J. Cooper. 24 - 29. H. Clarke, P. Rhodes, H. Rhodes. 12 - 21. S. Chorley, J. Clarke, C. Chorley. 12 - 18. S. Lawson, J. Johnson, B. Fraser. 11 - 24. S. Needham, P. Barber, R. Needham. 13 - 16. To me, that looks like 4 - 10 and the shots run out at 115 - 114. Another close call, just like the Golds on Wednesday. Yet another close call on Friday at home to San Luis Tigers. Captain Margaret Hunter tells me the real winner was the weather, extremely windy and very cold and the bowls were all over the place. The game of S. Milward, S. Jordan and I. Goodsell was a close game and they were unlucky not to win, holding two on the last end until the very last wood. S. Mahomet, N. Murphy and H. Barnby had an exceptional game on the dreaded Rink 3, the result of which gave us the overall shots win !! F. Kay, R. Milward and J. Ball had a very even game, being level at almost every end. At the end of 14 ends it was only 9 shots each. The final conclusion was that Siesta won by 4 shots and took the 8 points, but 6 points is not a bad result for San Luis away from home ? Back on Wednesday afternoon in the Chicken ( some say the best event of the week ) Brian Thomason won the Chicken, Peta Rhodes got the Wine and Bernie Crawford was happy with the Eggs. Now the really good news, ' Blue Chip ' full membership has become available at La Siesta and anyone wishing to take this out should contact Jim A.S.A.P. before they all go !! The number to ring is 690-190-523. The not so good news is that one of our better bowlers had a stroke, but the word is that progress is being made by Norman Lewington, so hopefully you keep getting better Norman. Also on the medical front, isn't Peta Rhodes looking really trim after the surgical exploration of her innards ? I know there are other members not feeling too good and I'm sure everyone wishes them a speedy return to the green. As that's all the results that are to hand, it's safe to say Adios the Noo.

I don't want to temp providence but the winning run that we are on seems to be holding , as on Friday all three teams done just that. The Sharks won three rinks away to San Miguel Cougars, with Leighton Davies. Dave Williams. Dave Lewis 21 - 19, Peter Parsons. Keith Cruise. Alan Castle 28 - 5, and Ron Hunt. Shirley Hadaway. Maureen Kidd 16 - 14, total shots 114 to 101 giving them an 8 points to 6 win. The Dolphins had a good win away to Monte mar against the Toreadors with a 12 points to 2 win, Peggy Lomas. Bill Bould, Bill Jamieson 18 - 15, Sheila Kirby. Jack Chorlton. Chris Lomas 29 - 20, Viv Zelin. Dave Willas. Don Harrison 26 - 17. Reg Jackson. Peter Mathews. Bill Jones 17 - 15, Brian Murray. Myself. Jim Manning 32 - 14, these were the Dolphins winners with the overall shots being 137 to 97. And the Seagulls went one better with a whitewash at home over La Siesta Silvers 14 - 0, those responsible were Gina Donnelly. Arthur Cronk. Dave Hadaway 18 - 8, Mo Taylor. Phil Richmond. Len Daniels 17 - 15, Dave Taylor. Jean Perchard. Denis Foster 22 - 15, Ron Maiden. Peter Bailey. Mo Barker 17 - 14, Rose Foster. Terry Perchard. Sue Daniels 13 - 11, Jill Albutt. John Morgan. John Albutt 21 - 11, overall shots 108 to 74. More of the same from the Explorers on Saturday away to Greenlands against the Blues. Ron Garland. Andy Bartlett. Tom Spencer 16 - 14, Angie Butler . Peter Parsons. Leighton Davies 25 - 9, Mary Warren. Barbara Forshaw. Maureen Kidd 18 - 15, Ron Chadwick. Dave Williams. Dave Lewis 24 - 9. Janet Parsons. Ceredwyn Davies, Graham Norris 13 - 19 and Roger Stacey. Martin Butler. Alex Whyte 20 - 16. overall shots 116 to 82, and 12 points. The Sharks branch of the firm went 1 point better on Sunday away to San Luis against the Lions with 5 wins and a draw by Ron Garland. Alex Whyte. Roy Hart 12 - 12, the 5 winning trips being Ron Hunt. Shirley Hadaway. Maureen Kidd 26 - 13. Peter Parsons. Keith Cruise. Alan Castle 24 - 13, Leighton Davies. Dave Williams. Dave Lewis 20 - 14,, Janet Parsons. Ceredwyn Davies. Fred Norris 19 - 13, and Andy Bartlett. Tom Spencer. Graham Norris 19 - 11, with a big overall shots advantage 120 to 76, it gave them another 13 points. And so on to Monday with a very good win 10 - 4 away at Country Bowls against the Supernovas by the Pathfinders 4 winning trips with Phyllis Thomson. Jim Thomson. Len Daniels 13 - 10, Mo Taylor. Wendy Oxley. Dave Hadaway 32 - 6, Keith Simpson. Mike Brain. Dave Taylor 15 - 12. Pam Morgan. Jean Perchard. Mo Barker 20 - 19, total shots 113 - 87, as Len put it (on a super roll). Not to be outdone the Astronauts travelled down to Horadada very successfully I might add winning 5 rinks with Brian Murray. Chris Bould. George Chambers 19 - 13, Dave Harcock. Reg Jackson .Peter Mathews 24 - 5, Vic Furlong. Myself. Jim Manning 27 - 11, Margaret Jamieson. Chris Lomas. Bill Jamieson 30 - 6, and Viv Zelin. Bill Bould. Brian Zelin 19 - 16, again a big overall shots total 133 to 68, and another 12 points. Then to round off a very good run of results the Dolphins played a postponed game on Wednesday at home against La Siesta Golds, winning 3 rinks plus the overall shots 133 to 87 ending with another 8 points, the three victors were Peggy Lomas. Myself. Bill Jamieson 26 - 13, Brian Murray. Phil Pape. Jim Manning 28 - 5, and Reg Jackson. Peter Mathews. Bill Jones 29 - 9, I hope you lot realise that winning all these games makes a lot more writing for me, but as long as you keep winning em I'll keep reporting em. Any one wanting more information about La Marina Bowls Club, can contact me Phil Morris on 96 679 0317.

Monday 1st.March at El Plantio ... 21 turned out for yet another Special Event day, generously sponsored by our treasurer Randy Dawson & his wife Linda, proprietors of Bar Mediterraneo, which is where our society is based. In order to make the day a little bit different, Randy decided to have a nearest the pin on all holes-in one on par 3's;in two on par 4's;and in three on par 5's.In addition to that, there was also a longest drive on all holes except for the par 3's. Unfortunately, I don't think much thought was given to the skill levels of most of our members, resulting in the majority of nearest the pins on the par 4's & 5's remaining unchallenged. The format certainly did my head in, which resulted in my narrowly getting beaten by one point for the dreaded wooden spoon prize, and that was after my best showing for some months just 4 days earlier on the same course!. Despite all that, a good time was had by all, and the results were as follows:- Winner with 34 points was our handicap secretary Brian Davies. He certainly understands the art of frequently being a winner, without adversely affecting his handicap. 2nd. with 33 points was Tony McCluskey Best front nine was Graham Parkes Best back nine was Stan Canter Longest drive challenges won by Alan Middle, one of our guests for the day Nearest the pin winner on the par 3's was Steve Cleaver Nearest the pin winner on the par 4's was Roger Halsom Nearest the pin winner on the par 5's was Geoff Branton Booby prize won by Brian Parton. Members are reminded that our AGM will take place at the Hotel Meridional In Guardamar an Saturday 6th.March,and if previous years are anything to go by, should be another good night out for members & their partners/guests.(7.30 for 8.00 pm.) Next outing will be at Alicante Golf.10.33 Tee off.

We had a good turnout for this week's competition which was a waltz, teams were selected and we took our partners, there seemed to be some nifty footwork going on around the course and people could be seen bowing to each other when they were successful. Although not for the nearest the pin on the 2nd as not one person managed to get on the green. Fortunately this was not to be on the 6th and the honour went to Charlie Stewart. Once all cards were in and scrutinised to make sure the correct format was adhered to the results were as follows, in 3rd place with a joint score of 84 points, Ray Housley, Gordon Abba, Steve Plant and Jan, in 2nd place with a score of 89 points was ‘Moi' Henderson, Charlie Stewart, Keith Clark and George Stanhope, in 1st place with a score of 92 points were Frank Stanhope(keeping it in the family again) Gordon Burton, Terry Hellier and Keith Smith. Congratulations to all. Next week's competition is U70's v O70's, not sure we can get even numbers for that so some of you may be classified as younger than you really are!! Competitions are held every Tuesday morning; anyone wishing to play in the competitions must have registered before 9.00am. For further details of these or daily play, please telephone 96 597 1681. Greenland's are open for golf from 9.00am Monday to Sunday. We are located on the CV940 San Miguel to Benijofar road, near to the Zoco Sunday Market. Lyn Young, Secretary

In the Southern League Division A The Yellows and the Greens both played teams from the Emerald Isle. The Yellows entertained the Jets and took 10 of the 14 points with a 127-98 win. The Greens played away against the Diamonds and took 6 points despite winning on only two rinks. They took the overall shot score by 91 to 89. In Division B The Oranges travelled south to face La Manga on the dreaded grass! Enough said, they came home empty handed as most teams do. In the SABA Discovery League The Yellows maintained their challenge towards the top of the division with a convincing 10 points to 4 win home win against Quesada Diamonds. In a very busy weekend at Greenlands on Saturday we took on the Welsh Ex-Pat Team fresh from our very creditable draw with the Spanish National Squad. The Welsh Dragon was spitting fire with St Davids`s Day looming but we sharpened our swords and slew the dragon by 117 shots to 104. During the match Bill `Crackerjack` Pain did it again and split the jack in half with one of his now famous firing shots. The committee are considering increasing his membership fee next season to cover this extra cost! On Sunday we had our Premier 20 Semi-Final against Javea Green. This is a home and away match played simultaneously and the 2 singles matches were shared with Bill Pain winning at home but Lynn Greenland losing away to an inform Nick Cole. The Pairs went the same way with Sue Johnson and Mel Brown winning at home whilst `up north` Sheila Stead and Dave Greenland lost narrowly, All square. At home the Greenlands rink of Noel Cork, Ronnie Cairns, Steve Westall and Derek Toozer won comfortably only to hear (mobile phones were buzzing) that our away Triple of Jan Pocock, Peter Crane and Brian Pocock had lost. The last two games to finish were both extremely close. At Greenlands the home trip of Jeannie Clements, Colin Lloyd and Dave O`Sullivan had fought back to tie the score with one end to play. Colin was holding shot with a `toucher` in the ditch but the Javea skip hit the jack into the ditch which bounced off of Colins wood and moved to the left in the ditch leaving Javea with the winning shot. Last game to finish (surprise, surprise) was the rinks at Javea where the Greenland squad of Carol Rudge, Wendy Latham, Angie Goodfellow and Barry Latham were tied with one end to play. We were holding the shot and as hard as Javea tried they failed to remove the wood. We`d won by 3 shots overall. What a match. Congratulations to both teams it was a shame that someone had to lose. La Siesta now await us in the Final.

Winter League No game this week thanks to the rain. The game has been re-arranged for 19th March check notice board for details. Southern League Cougars Re- arranged match against Monte Mar Matadors on Tuesday yielded 4 points to the home team. On Friday they hosted the match against San Luis Lions and put up a real fight. The shots were equally divided with 101 each and we managed to keep 5 points. Well done to everyone for digging in for the shots. The Jaguars re-arranged match on Thursday at home against the Country Bowls Ramblers saw us splitting the points 7 each in a very close match. On Friday they travelled to Greenlands to meet the Yellows and came home with 4 points. The shot difference was close at 103 to the Jaguars and 114 to the Yellows. Great effort everyone, keep it up. S.A.B.A. Meteors played at La Siesta against the Apollos we managed to win two rinks giving us 4 points on the day. The Pulsars went to La Marina to play the Explorers winning a handsome 9 points to the Explorers 5 Well done everyone. The Comets were at home the Horadada Falcons and although a close game won 4 of the 14 points on offer. Great effort folks. The Asteroids 4 Winning rinks and a draw ensured Asteroids sent Greenlands home with the blues. We also won the total shots giving us 11pts to 3pts and for the time being at least into the top 6 in the league. Well done to everyone but special congratulations must go the 3 degrees who we know to be Val, Sandra and Sheila for a hat trick of wins. Well done ladies. John Staden Federation Fours. The Harriers continue to set the pace winning a further 6 points at home against the Emerald Isle Leprechauns while the Hawks took on the Cluricans at Emerald Isle winning one rink netting 2 points for the team. National Team. This week's lottery bonus ball winners were, Kay Lewis and Cassie Hopkins We have a few numbers available; if you would like to join in please see Janet McNeil. The next Rummikub night is on 25th March, come along a join us. Check the social notice board for details. For more information please contact President Harry Sharpe on 966 775 821

Villarreal 'B' - 0 FC Cartagena - 0 .... Yellow submarine v oldest submarine in the world, lacked any real killer torpedo's, with neither captain making full use of their vessels periscope vision. Villarreal, affectionately known as yellow submarine because of their all yellow kit, hosted Cartagena, home of the world's oldest submarine, proudly displayed in a dry dock within the city's port, in a slow to start encounter which came to life late on. Very few teams have visited their artificial surface pitch and left with a victory, so all in all, Cartagena are probably satisfied with a point that maintains their 3rd in the table position. Two bookings for the home side within the first 10 mins, gave notice of their intentions. In a half of few chances, it was Villarreal who had by far the best opportunities. First a shot on 11 mins, then a header after 34 just missed the target, but their best effort was on 38, when a cross cum shot was superbly pushed away by keeper Ruben. Cartagena's only decent chance fell to Cygan, whose powerful header flew wide of the post. Just before the interval, Villarreal once again missed the target with a good effort. Ruben came to his sides rescue shortly after the restart, when having punched a powerful shot up field, he breathed a sigh of relief as the rebound was knocked back just past his far post. Now it was visitors turn to get nasty. Between the 50th and 62nd min, no less than 4 Cartagena players were booked, as they struggled to contain a lively youthful Villarreal outfit. The games best chance fell to Cartagena, when a magnificent De Lucas diving header flew agonisingly past the post. Straight from the resultant goal kick, Ruben pulled of another great save to deny Montero a goal. In a fast and furious finish to the match, Cartagena subs (not the underwater kind!!) Tato and Quintero both saw their efforts sail past the post. Forthcoming Fixture: On Fri 12 Mar ko 9pm, FC Cartagena host Cadiz at Cartagonova Stadium. This div 2a fixture is to be shown live on Gol tv. For further info on FC Cartagena, visit www.gotocartago.com or www.futbolclubcartagena.com.

Three months into the year it only seems two months since the 1st January!!!! Our new captain Dave Daniel always looking for something different (don't tell his missus) and he decided on this month to play “Daytona” which is a pairs type game and on each hole the highest score goes first followed by the lowest, for example player A scores a 4 and player B scores 6, then it's a 64 and so on with the lowest total winning. Well because of a “dicky” tummy one of the players dropped out so it was back to a normal Stableford. As they say “All the plans of mice and men!” El Plantio seems to have got the Spring weather first as it was a very sunny day and many of the players wore shorts, it also applies to the course as it is getting greener and looking really good. One member Barry Daniell, was not going to be outshone by the weather and the course and had a clean sweep of the prizes, coming first, but only after a countback and winning the two Nearest the Pins 1st: Barry Daniell 35 points C/B. 2nd: Jim Mathieson 35 points NTP: Hole 9 and 14. Guess who? The Value for Money prize went to Paul Smith and the prize was a giant lollipop. As our Captain Dave Daniel said on presenting it, “The recipient of this prize is for the player who cannot lick the course he will be able to lick this” There are more exciting games to come and at exciting courses, our calendar for the coming months is March 22nd - Roda Golf Note the change of date from the 15th. April 5th - El Plantio Golf April 19th - Vistabella Golf If you would like to be a part of these exciting golf days and guests are welcome contact The Secretary the details are below. Also our website is coming on so click on to www.golfsoc.com/torre-golf-society for more information and fixtures. For more information on The Torre Golf Society then contact the Secretary Ivie Davies either by email golf.davies@telefonica.net or telephone/text 669 211 410 NOTE: Picture shows winners, L/R Jim Matthieson, Barry Conroy, Reid Kane, Dave Daniel (Captain) Gordon Howieson, Graham Lester, Vince Lannon and Barry Daniell outside the clubhouse

President's Putter Competition at Roda on 1st March. ... We had an excellent turn out of 42 players for our annual President's Putter Competition at our home course Roda on what proved to be a warm and sunny day. The course as per usual was immaculately presented with the fairways in particular well manicured and it was a pleasure to play on green grass again after playing so many courses recently where the fairways have been in brown hibernation mode. In addition to the main competition 4 players took the opportunity to play their semi final matches in the individual match play event and in these games Maurice Lea and Steve Powell came out victorious beating Peter Ferries and Dean Charles respectively to proceed to the final. In the President's Putter Competition one 4 ball took the Captain's call for faster play to extremes by teeing off on the 9th hole when they had not played holes 6.7 or 8. The 4 ball in question Noel Connellan, John Casey, Dennis and Meg Clarke had all played the course before so Noel's humorous suggestion that someone had turned the tee box number upside down was met with a fair degree of scepticism. Fortunately they had the use of a buggy to retrieve their drives so not much time was lost. Two players also managed to break clubs during their rounds, Dennis Thomas on hole 11 when the head of his 6 iron came off when hitting his tee shot, he found the head but not the ball and George Kilminster who played the final 16 holes without a putter and still managed a very creditable 28 points. The full list of prize winners on the day were: Category 1: 1st John Connolly with a superb 38 points. 2nd Steve Powell with 35 points. 3rd Ian McCormack with 33 points beating Stan Boyles who had the same score on count back by virtue of our lower handicap rule. Category 2: 1st Georges Ottevaere with 32 points on count back. 2nd Roy Aston with 32 points. 3rd Sheila Aston with 31 points. Best Guest was John Casey with 31 points. Winner of the President's Putter Trophy - John Connolly. Nearest the Pin Prizes were won by Ian McCormack, John McArthur, Roy Welburn and Noel Connellan and the longest drive for ladies prize by Sheila Aston. The 2's prize fund was shared by Ray Madeley, John McArthur, Ian McCormack, Roy Welburn, John Mitton and John Casey. The football card draw was won by Dennis Clarke. Future Fixtures and Events: Monday 15th March, Alenda, first tee time 10.32. Monday 22nd March, Hacienda Riquelme, first tee time 11.40. Wednesday 24th March Quiz Night , Lilley's Restaurant, Torre de la Horadada see white book for details. Contact: Geoff Walters, Secretary, Tel 966 763 369 or email geofwalt@telefonica.net

With Robin Adams on Tuesday 2 March. Due to early start we all met at the course for our Ind stableford match. It was dark and overcast but all 27 of us were looking forward to trying the new course and taking advantage of the half price offer, thanks very much to the Vistabella Management and Staff for making us very welcome, the course was in very good condition and we will certainly be making a speedy return. After our last match, I mentioned Happy Days Golf @ Swimming Soc, we now have to add Driving School to our name, (need i mention names, Dave @ Ken ). Anyway a good day , spoilt only by rain affecting the last few players. The Results were; 1st Chris Blown. 2nd Mick The Grip Reeves. 3rd Andy Shuttle. Best front 9 Pete Cowan Best back 9 Dave Naylor. Best Par3s John Donovan.Best4s.Steve Naish. Best Par5s. Dave Eadington. Nearest Pins, 2nd, Chris Blown. Nearest Pin 6th John Down. Twos Prize. Chris Blown. Best Guest Matthew Smith. Well done to John ;Boy; Coulter who finished the course after a long convalescence, he is ready to lead the ;Oldies; into battle on the 16th mar. Don't forget to put your names down for the 3 Day trip to Valle Del Este on 16th May. Our next Game is the Oldies V the Youngsters on the 16th march, with a special Dinner at Listers Bar Cabo Roig, 3 courses with entertainment for only 10 euros. Please bring your friends to make it a great night, please support your Society. Thanks to Tony @ Ann @ also Kaz and Dave for always making us welcome at Listers, and for all the Sandwiches. New Grips and Club repairs Phone Mick (The Grip) on 638 859 475. Problems Phone, Nigel 679 182 917, Fred 600 695 997, Robin965 32 6943.

15th MAY 2010 – 29th MAY 2010 ...February Newsletter Dear Bowlers Just to update you as to what is going on. We had the Draw at Cheers Restaurant, San Miguel on Thursday 25th February with Dominic in charge and the fleeting fingers of Ann Eagle flashing across the computer keys. The technical side was ably looked after by Lee Sinclair. The draw was done by Frank Reid and Bob Donnelly and I just held the bag. (Quite skilfully, I might add.) To make sure everything was above board we invited you all to attend and I am glad to say quite a few did. A big thank you to Len Pilling for travelling down to represent the North of Alicante and it was good to see Colin and Lynn Armitage representing Monte Mar with Carol Rudge, Betty and Stuart Hemmings in attendance with Alex and Janet McNeil also popping in. Of course most of the Committee were there. There were a few choice words when one or two games came out the bag. Especially when the only two teams from one club, drew each other. Life's cruel at times. All being well the Draw and Schedule should be out to all the participating clubs within a fortnight and at the moment everything is on track for the dates we set. ( I hope I'm not pushing my luck.) A little moan and something to bear in mind for next year, only two clubs got their entries entirely correct which meant someone had to do a lot of typing or alterations before the draw could be made. (Slight exaggeration but how do you sort out, for instance, who the twelve S. North's are.) Just a few statistics – We have 18 clubs taking part, two more than last year. Up on entries to disciplines - 1039 entries. Ladies entries up so is the number of bowlers joining us from North of Alicante. Team entries also on the increase. Nice one everybody. Nearly forgot to mention who is playing where – Ladies will be gracing San Miguel and Emerald Isle and the Men will be using El Rancho and Greenlands. (The jacks at both the last two venues have been checked and found to be correct. Order of Play (as going to press) Ladies Men Triples 16.05.10 Pairs 16.05.10 Singles 18.05.10 Rinks 19.05.10 Rinks 21.05.10 Singles 21.05.10 Pairs 23.05.10 Triples 24.05.10 We will be looking for Qualified Markers and in the first instance would those volunteering please get in touch with Dominic Mills 617619373. Other reminders – Money from each club for the Raffle is due at the latest at the Fed Mtg on 11th March, 25 Euros was agreed. We have had some sponsors come forward, thank you very much but obviously we would like more if possible. The Leader is awaiting your adverts, you can phone on 966 73 0057. In the meantime if you have any queries, questions or need more information you can contact me on 966 79 0711 or by email at barryl@gonuts4free.com Hopefully we can get a Newsletter out each month to keep you up to date. Don't forget, bowl to the jack, not at it. Best wishes …. Barry Latham Chairman of Valencian Community Championship Committee.

In the Northern League last week both the Sabres and the Swords played two matches. The Swords played at home against Javea's Opals team, resulting in a mixed bag of results! Over the four rinks, Swords had a big win, a big loss, a close game and a draw! However, they lost the overall by 9 shots, so the final result was 3 points to Swords and 7 points to Opals. Later on in the week Swords travelled to Benitachell and played their rained off game against the Jaguars. Overall Swords had two good wins and 2 not so good losses, but didn't manage to take the overall shot difference, leaving the final result as 4 points to Swords and 6 points to Jaguars. The Sabres also played that same week at BBC against the Jaguars, but they were more fortunate. Sabres had four very close games, one of which ended in a draw, but they held on and managed to win on two rinks and just grabbed one extra shot to take the overall too. Final result was 7 points to Sabres, 3 to Jaguars. In their second match of the week, Sabres travelled to Finca Guila to play against the Hawks. Again, there were some very close games, but Sabres took a loss on one rink and the 8 point win on Sara, Fred & Vernon's rink didn't quite make up the overall, so it went down to the last rink to finish to pull it out of the bag! Going into the final end Jill Glastonbury, Michael Cerio & skip Ron Jones were level with the opposition. As the skips went to bowl Hawks were holding 2 shots. Ron Jones bowled his last wood as if his life depended on it and drew for shot through an already crowded head. The Hawks skip valiantly fired, but missed and that resulted in another win for the Sabres. Overall score was 63 shots (8 points) to Sabres, 62 (2 points) to Hawks. Keep up the fantastic work Sabres – only two games left this season. In the Winter League last week, El Cid played host to Finca Guila on a very windy morning which made for some interesting bowling. On all the rinks at one point there were some very close scores. The final result was two rinks a piece with El Cid claiming the overall by just three shots. Final scores on the doors were 6 points to El Cid, 4 points to Finca Guila. Both our Berleen teams lost which was a shame after having won our last three. All in all it was a very competitive game and enjoyed by everyone. Updates of the in-house Irish Cup competition league standings can now be found on the club website along with details of Federation competitions we are entering. Don't forget to put the Club Championship Finals dates in your diaries – they will be played on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th March. A buffet and the presentations will follow the finals on the Saturday, notice is up on main board. We will be having an Easter Bonnet fun day on Sunday 4th April. Prizes will be awarded for the best Easter Bonnets and keys will be drawn for teams. Put your name on the list soon as places will be limited. New members are always welcome at El Cid Bowls Club and training sessions can be arranged for new bowlers, please contact El Cid Bowls Club on 96 640 4364. More details can be found on our website at www.elcidbowlsclub.com. Sara Hamer

Two weeks Federated Four's games to catch up with, firstly on Wed 24th Feb we were at home against the Emerald Isle Cluricans, where we picked up a very good result of six points. Top team and winners of the prestigious pen awards were Shirley Verity, Maurice Horswell, Dave Chaplin & Terry Padgett, who boosted their score during the second part of the game and won comfortably with a result of 24-13. Ann Horswell, Sheila Cammack, Bruce Aitken & Ken Cuthbert thought they had the win in the bag, until the string came out on the last end, dropping three shots but just hanging on to the win 19-18. Pat Patton, Geoff Paylor, Roy Trow & Brian Patton built up a good lead, but their opponents eventually caught up with them on the fifteenth end and then took the win 15-17, Yet another game going to the wire Brian!! Another great club performance, we have got off to a good start in this league, sitting pretty at the top, but there to be shot at! The overall shots, Country B's 58(6) - 48(2) Cluricans. March 3rd, the Fed Fours team were away against the Greenlands Bulls. An extremely close game that finished with one win apiece and the other ending in a draw, giving both sides three points but the overall points going in the favour of the Bulls. Our winning rink was Ann Horswell, Maurice Horswell, Bruce Aitken & Ken Cuthbert who won by a difference of one shot 19-18. Shirley verity, Geoff Paylor, Roy Trow & Terry Padgett went into the last end one shot up, they lost the end to the Bulls and the game finished in a draw 18-18. Jenny Chaplin, George Thomson, Dave Chaplin & Brian Patton kept their game very close until the 17th & 18th ends, where they dropped several shots and lost 15-21. Overall finish was very close, Country B's 52(3) - 57(5) Bulls, this is our first defeat, but we'll be back! On Friday 26th Feb the Southern League Ramblers were at home against our neighbours and friends, the Horadada Royals. What a good result we had from this game, we achieved wins on five rinks which gave us a very welcome twelve points. Ann Horswell, Maurice Horswell & Noel Verity stole the show with a superb win of 34-9 well done you three, some terrific scoring there. Pat Patton, Brian Patton & Roy Trow also had a great win against a very strong Horadada team, a pat on the back for you! Jenny Chaplin, George Thomson & Dave Rogers led from the fourth end, never looked back again, 28-13. Shirley Verity, Dave Chaplin & Ken Cuthbert didn't let their opponents have a look in, another excellent performance 22-11. Lynne Bishop, Bruce Aitken & Eric Bishop were 24-7 up, then gave away eight on the last three ends, never the less another win of 25-15. Meanwhile down on rink 1, Geoff Paylor, Sheila Cammack & Terry Padgett were having a bad day, they played a tightly fought game, of which they had to be satisfied with coming in second place, I believe Horadada's "Miguel Mullet" Blunt was walking on water, well done to their three 11-17. Overall shots, Ramblers 148(12) - 76(2) Royals. Charlie Watkins, Ron Cammack & Peter Hinds just managed to win the friendly by one shot 20-19, well done. SABA. The Supernovas have played three games over the last eight days. They had a disappointing result from their away game with the Greenlands Orange side on Mon 22nd Feb, the Orange's unfortunately had a team short, so the two points and penalty shots were awarded to the Supernovas, unfortunately the Supernovas lost on all the five rinks played and had to be satisfied with the same two points. There were some close finishes, but things just didn't go our way. Supernovas (2) - (12) Orange. Mon Ist March the Supernovas were at home against La Marina Pathfinders. They had wins on two rinks from the teams of Carol Donnellan, Paul Plant & Dave Rogers who won 21-17 and Gillian Morris, Chris Darnell & Dave Rutherford 19-16, well done to both teams, you did well. Sandra Mcilroy, Ray Emmett & Peter Hinds picked up nine shots on the last two ends but sadly were beaten to the post by one shot 19-20. Margaret Odell, Dot Davies & Maurice Cass lost 10-13 in a very low scoring game. Ron Odell, Charlie Watkins & Harold Morris lost 12-15. John Simpson, Pat Emmett & Bryan Kirk had a bad day at the office and lost 6-32, things can only get better. The Supernovas then played a re-arranged home game the following day March 2nd, against San Luis Klingons. It was very wet and they won just two points from this game, the winning team were Jean Williams (having a super start, playing her first league game) Charlie Watkins and Dave Rogers who won 22-14 well done. The team of Sandra Mcilroy, Ray Emmett & Peter Hinds made a remarkable come back from being 3-19 down after twelve ends, they won the last six ends and were very unlucky to lose by one shot 18-19. Overall shots Supernovas 89(2) - 123(12) Klingons. Keep your eye's on the club notice board for latest news of forthcoming games.

OPEN GALLERY MIXED PAIRS This was held at Horizonte with 44 pairs contesting the Open Gallery mixed pairs trophy. After 5 games each it was the home pairs of Sussie and Kaj Bjarve and Ewa and Helmet Bowes who met in the final, This was well matched with Sussie and Kaj just having that extra scoring power which gave them the Gold Medal, and 100e. Runners up Ewa and Helmet had to settle for 80e and the Silver medal. I n third place were Eva Melkersson and Reijo from Rosaleda, they beat Majvi and Jan Norman of Torreta CASTILLO DE CONESA This latest Petanca club are playing at the Castillo De Conesa Restaurant grounds with 6 new pitches almost completed. The wooded area will have 2 tiers of pitches with wooden seating and tables. The club have already added new members and welcome more newcomers. With 2 teams playing in the Las Salinas summer league, they have also accepted a place in the Costa Blanca Serie, and will start in serie 4b. This is a good start for the club and augers well for the future. CAJAMURCIA PREMIER SERIE With 2 divisions each playing in a league the winners of each group then meets in a playoff to decide the overall winners. This was introduced last season with San Luis, and La Siesta the winners of each group then meting at Horizonte, this went to San Luis, in a closely fought final. Next Friday March 12th the new league programme gets underway with Rosaleda, hosting the serie 1a This brings together San Luis and Horizonte in the opening match, this has been very closely contested over the past 3 years, and again will give the winner a boost even at this early stage The serie 1b, likewise has the top two teams, La Siesta and La Marina squaring up at La Marina, a tough opening match SERIE 2ATorre Del Moro host this round, SERIE 2B Horizonte are the hosts . EUROPEAN PETANCA DAY The 8th European Day Petanca championship will be played on Saturday May 8th. Entries are invited from all European Countries. Last year we had 13 different countries represented, hopefully more will join in. LAS SALINAS PETANCA PRESENTATION & DINNER This second presentation will be held at El Rancho on Saturday March 13th. Start time is 1 for 1-30 A good menu is offered for just 10e. For further information on Petanca in this area please call Roger Seymour on 966785642

A poor turnout for a better ball contest. At start of play it looked like we may get rain but by the 11th hole the sun got out and everyone enjoyed a good day's golf. The lake claimed very few balls today so scoring was very good by all teams. Once again the greens proved difficult by us high handicappers. One day we may be able to read them !. As usual the course was in very good condition with the exception of unrepaired pitch marks on the greens. No hold ups again so the game flowed well. The winners list is as follows : 1st Ray Parker (again) and Alan Pearson 2nd Stan Natynczyk and Ian Campbell Nearest the pin on the 15th was Ray Parker ( no nearest the pin on the 2nd ) Two's winner was Stan Natynczyk 70 euro. Our next society game is a Medal contest on Sunday 7th March. Please let me know if you want to compete. Contact Alan Moffett at alanmoffett@live.co.uk or tel: 965 080 354 or 652 702 138

Lo Romero. Individual Stableford 1st March ... It was nice to be back at Lo Romero and on such a nice day as well. We seem to have quite late tee times lately and at 10.30am it was already warm. I had gotten a weather forecast which said that it was to get windy during the afternoon and go cool, wrong, it stayed warm and if anything the early breeze died away. Definitely a day for playing in shorts and half our players were obviously more comfortable in them. Again we were split into 2 categories with handicap 13 being the highest in Cat1. The course was in very good condition with the greens playing slower than the practice green which caught a few players out, however the gross 2´s pot was shared by 2 players Frank Broadhurst and Ken Hunt who both chipped in on the par 3 12th hole without even having to putt. Frank has now been named the man with the golden putter (which he has had for 25 years) but still doesn't know how to use it,. He even said that his chipping was rubbish today shortly before chipping in for 2 winning 18.5€ as his share of the pot. Barry Beale, winner of our last game with 39 points didn't repeat his achievement unfortunately and on the 10th tee amazed his playing partners with a tee shot that went straight up in the air and landed back on the tee box, I understand he is thinking of wearing a crash helmet for his tee shots from now on. Barry did fair better on the 18th though when his second to the island green looked like it was in the water when it hit a rock and bounced up and back onto the fairway, it never happens that way for me. There were many tales of the days play being told back at the clubhouse and I took the opportunity to take a few notes of the amusing ones. John Hillier our highest handicap player mentioned that he had scored 12 points on the 4 par 3´s and 14 points on the remaining 14 holes. His playing partners were getting fed up with him saying 4 Nett 3 for 3. Jimmy Trevaskiss whom I was playing with had a putting day to forget. I'm sure for most of the round he 3 putted every green and then made us laugh when only a foot away from the hole said ”I'll just get this out of your way” meaning to knock it in the hole and ended up 2 feet away and definitely in no ones way. Roy Herbert survived the treacherous 18th when his 3rd shot was heading for disaster and hit the only raised sleeper on the far edge of the green and bounced back towards the flag. In the absence of the handicap secretary Paul Matthews volunteered to check the cards and there were only a few mistakes but the most amusing was that of the card marked by David Williams, the points total read 15 + 4=20 and when questioned said “I used to teach maths”, what he didn't say was that he taught maths badly. The results of the day were:- Cat 1 winner David Williams with 35 points second place on count back was Barry Beale with 32 points. Cat 2 winner was Capt Mick Hardy also with 35 points and in second again on count back was Roy Herbert with 33 points. The nearest the pin prizes were won by, Hole 5 Chris Tudor, Holes 12 and 15 by Roy Herbert and Hole 9 which was second shot by Paul Matthews. The gross 2´s was shared by Frank Broadhurst and Ken Hunt. An excellent days golf in perfect conditions, roll on March 24th which is our next game at Corvera Golf. The format for this game will be a 2 ball Texas scramble. Payday is Saturday 20th at the campsite San Javier. For more details about the Society go to. www.sanjaviergolfsociety,.co.uk Report by Bob Gallard. Photo L to R. Frank Broadhurst. Ken Hunt. Roy Herbert. Mick Hardy. Barry Beale. Chris Tudor and Paul Matthews.

Having suffered a disturbed night's sleep due to the strong winds buffeting the house it was with a certain amount of trepidation that we set off early for our first visit to Alicante this year, the course can be a bit tight at the best of times but with the wind it was going to be quite a challenge. We were warmly welcomed at the golf course and the coffee and tostado's put us all in a good frame of mind before we had to wrap up warm again to tackle the course, the weather warmed nicely but alas the wind did not abate. We are playing our Eclectic competition here this year and there is definitely a great deal of room for improvement. The results reflect the conditions on the day and of course the difficulty of the splendid Alicante greens. In first place, with a score of 33 off 23 was Len Bailey, this probably means that for the time being Len will not be “giving the stupid game up”, Len was obviously playing well as he also got nearest the pin on the 3rd. In second place was Gordon Holloway clearly the arduous task of collecting the money hasn't started to affect his game yet, Gordon scored 31 off 18.5, in third place was Peter Thompson scoring 29 off 9.3. The other prizes winners for nearest the pin were, John Daniels on the 6th, Chris Hoare on the 12th and Bill Parsons on the difficult 17th, John Daniels went on to secure the “two” but we still owe him his coveted Warbler Ball. The football card money was won by Jim Rodgers with Plymouth and he kindly donated the winnings to Jenny's charity. Next week, Wednesday the 10th March, we are at Oliva Nova Golf to compete for the now legendary “Yellow Ball” competition; all will be explained on the day. The first tee will be 10.00 and we would like you there for 09.15. Guests are always welcome and you can book in on the web site or by phone, 619 325 671.

I have not written an article for a couple of weeks due to a house move, I have been too traumatised to write after hours spent in the notaries, yes you remember! I have a few weeks to catch up on. On Tuesday 16th February Tony Monsellato tamed the course to win first prize with 34 points, modesty stops me from telling you I came second with 33 points. Tuesday 23rd February we had to play at Las Ramblas our sister course due to work on our home course of La Finca. The scoring was low due to precipices, barancas, blind shots and greens that went in the wrong direction when putting, I always find it a difficult course. Third place went to Billy McMillan with 31 points, second was Steve Batchelor with 32 points and after numerous calculations by Steve, Jeff Giggs won on countback. Bringing you right up to date to Tuesday 2nd March, nearest the pin on the 3rd went to Paul Simkiss and the nearest on the 13th was an old favourite Trevor Brown. There was a three way tie on a net 70; third place went to Tony Monsellato with a net back nine of 36, second was Jeff Giggs with a back nine 35, but piping them both the winner was Paul Simkiss (pictured) with a 2 under back nine of 34. Paul has not featured much (you can see why from the photo) but has been around for a long time in the background, he told me after the match he is off to Thailand for a few weeks, he will hopefully bring me back a nice present. Well done to all 3 for a magnificent 2 under par round. I leave you this week with my latest worry, I think I may be getting old, as I went to straighten the wrinkles in my socks the other day and found I wasn't wearing any. Denis Nevin, Los Caballeros Golf Society

Luke Goddard is a name worth remembering for it will not be long before we are reading about him on the back pages of all newspapers. Why? Well you see young Luke is a bit handy with a golf club. So handy that he has played for England and was included in last year's Walker cup squad. Not bad for a lad who learnt his trade right here in our little, sunny, neck of the woods. Luke has only been playing the game for four years and at 21 he is a serious prospect, just a glance at his achievements in that short space of time will tell any golfer all they need to know – the boy is good. In 2008 he won the Argentinean Amateur Open, his first tournament and he followed that with the English Amateur Open a year later. In 2009 he also turned pro (October) and will start on the pro tour later this year. But don't think that now he's a pro we wont be seeing anything of him because Luke spends a lot of time visiting his family in Spain and playing a round or two as a member of Lunes Golf Society, for whom he has been a member since those early days. So if you should see him, or indeed play against him, on our local courses I'm sure he'd be pleased for some support…but just don't play him for money…

SABA ENTERPRISE LEAGUE A good result today for the Falcons at the start of a very busy week of bowls. Every day this week for some, with the re-arranged games from the recent bout of rainy weather, so it is nice to start off with a win. Our scoring rinks were as follows : Jenni Blunt, Gerry Gough and Mick Blunt. 18 - 10. Rose Guppy, Arthur Brown and Brian Guppy. 21 - 11. Val Collier, Ann Hartley and Chris Collier. 22 - 6. Kath Reid, Barbara Brown and Guiseppe Galelli. 22 - 15. Very well done to this team that were 6 - 0 down after four ends then scored a Hot Shot (9) on the fifth to kick start their win. Horadada Falcons 10 pts (108 shots) v San Miguel Comets 4 pts (82 shots). The second successive game of a very busy week, thank goodness the weather held out sufficient to complete the game, although it was looking bleak at one point. The last thing we needed was another cancelled match. Not a good day for Bowls or the Falcons as we went down on four rinks so not too much to say. Our winning rinks were: Pauline Murphy, Gerald Murphy and Barry Evans. 27 - 15. Kath Reid, Brian Guppy and Guiseppe Galelli. 26 - 9. Horadada Falcons 4 pts (89 shots) v Quesada Pearls 10 pts (118 shots). SABA DISCOVERY LEAGUE Unfortunately the start or the week was not so good for our Condors at home to La Marina Astonauts we did manage to win one rink so well done to. Vince Skeel, Ann Allen Skip Dave Allen 17 – 14. But the overall score was a bit of a disaster. Horadada Condors 2 pts La Marina Astronauts 12 pts (shots 68 – 133) SOUTHERN LEAGUE DIVISION ' A ' Report of the Royals re-arranged game from the 19th February played today 4th March. Another game against Quesada at home, and it was the turn of their Swallows team. This time we managed to turn the tables winning on four rinks and taking the overall shots. A different league of course, but quite a few of the players had to make the journey for the second time within three days. At least the sun was out this time, a much better day for bowls. Our winning rinks were :- Tony Burchall, Jenny Burchall and Brian Guppy. 21 - 14. Val Collier, Jim Kerr and Chris Collier. 24 - 9. Bryan Eatough, Arthur Brown and Julian Pering. 22 - 11. Terry Hucknall, Jo Pering and Barry Evans. 19 - 12. Horadada Royals 10 pts ( 110 shots ) v Quesada Swallows 4 pts (88 shots). Business as usual away from home to Emerald Isle Sapphires if only we could do this at home more often nether less a win is a win and a good one as well at the Isle with four winning rinks as follows. Well done Squad. John Bailey, Arthur Brown Skip Barry Evans 20 – 15 Bryan Eatough. Jo Perring Skip Julian Pering 18 – 13 Jenni Blunt, Terry Hucknall Skip Mick Blunt 21 – 10 Val Collier, Jim Kerr Skip Chris Collier 27 – 11 Total Shots 106 – 84 Total points 10 - 4 HOT SHOTS - A Hot shot trio. Kath Reid, Giuseppe Galelli and Barbara Brown. Their maximum scored for Horadada against San Miguel. Also both Kath Reid & Barbara Brown have been selected to play for England For more information on Horadada Bowls Club please contact The President Ray Hartley 96 833 5467. The Web Site www.horadadabowls.com

19th.February Coopers Arms, Quesada. This was our first (hopefully of many) Social evening when 51 members and guests attended and it has to be said the night according to all, was a great success. With great value for money food consisting of a 3 course meal, that those attending were able to choose prior to the night, together with wine, beer etc plus great entertainment from Laura who sang music from the 60's right up to present day, all for just 15 Euros per head. Thank you Tim and all your Staff for all your help and assistance. During the interval we had a ‘play your cards right' game that Tim and Laura were good enough to be MC's for. I think that everyone were a little bemused over it all because there was very little banter from the audience when it came to saying “higher or lower than a …..” in the end 70 Euros was won by Colin Barton, well done Colin, a cheap night for you and Elaine!. However, the highlight of the evening other than Laura's singing and our card game was Inspector Clouseau (Peter (Sellers) Horsfield) dispatching wine over Pink Panther (Paul (Hulk) Hurrell) who we all feel should be our new striker because have never seen anyone move so quickly (backwards on a chair) and in view of the fact he is older, (only just) than Corky, could very well now be that striker we need up front to score goals! If you are interested in joining our Golf Society and playing cheap golf whenever you want, or on our society days, for just 10 Euros membership of the Torry Army then contact our President, David Winder at davidwinder.torregolf@gmail.com or call him on 626 774 157.

At El Plantio Tuesday 23rd.February The report for to-days outing is one of disaster for El Presidente who not only had a “wheelie drive off the 10th” finishing up on the wrong side of the bridge, no more should be said about that, but he also finished last out of our smallest turn out since our formation, and he lost his camera, as well!, so no pictures this time. However, all our remaining members had a great day in near perfect conditions and once again many thanks to Santiago and his Staff for all the attention given. Our format to-day was a Stableford competition and the winners In 1st.Place on a countback Mick Gossage with 35 points from one of our lady members, Sue Freeman. Nearest the pin on hole 9 went to Dave Forster and while on this subject our President reports that while playing with some other members a couple of weeks ago, one of our other lady members Sue Owens had a hole in one on the 9th. Well done Sue! Hope you appreciated your Certificate. Our next outing is again at El Plantio on the 16th. March with special rates applying so if you are interested in joining us please contact davidwinder.torregolf@gmail.co.uk or give him a call on 626 774

110 member and guests played in the March Monthly Medal today, unfortunately due to the recent heavy rain we had to play off the blocks, and with one temporary green this game would not count as a qualifier for handicaps or eclectic. However, it was a lovely warm spring day and I think most people enjoyed their game today, except poor Robin Richards who was not having a good day and to make matters worse he tried to retrieve his ball in the hazard behind the l5th and sunk up to his knees in the mud – it was quite a struggle to extricate him!! Congratulations to all our winners, especially Tom Hull who won the Medal with a great score of 65 and no handicap cut!! GOLD CATEGORY: 1st Pino Perito 70, 2nd David Gray 72, 3rd Dave King 73 SILVER CATEGORY: 1st Tom Hull 65, 2nd Ray Porter 70, 3rd Mike Harris 72 Nearest The Pins: 2nd (3rd shot) Bill Martin (Sierra Golf), 3rd (2nd shot) David Lewis (La Vuelta), 5th Keith Southgate (Sands Bistro), 11th Anthea Baker (Frattellis), 12th (2nd shot) Ian R Pegg (Pinada Blinds), 15th Paul Manning (Tournasol), 17th Alan Wright (Hole in One) (Supervalu) Best Front 9: Jill Pegg 33, Best Back 9: Eamonn Devine 32.5 Best Par 5's: Pino Perito 20, Best Par 3's: Dave King 13 Best Guest: Alan Wright, Best Gross: Pino Perito 78 No CSA Figures for today, Captain's Bunker: 16€ Football Draw: Gordon White, Bruce Gordon, Dennis Cole. 90 Club: 1st Gordon White (50€) 2nd David Gray (30€) We have much pleasure in informing our members that Bill Martin has been chosen as our Vice Captain for next season. A presentation was made to Colin Marsh for all his valuable help and time spent helping us with the Eurogolf Website. The website address is www.eurogolf-quesada.co.uk, where you can find all the draws, latest results, press report, and social news, including the menu for the next dinner/dance. To access the Members Area please speak to a Committee Member for the password. Finally, many thanks to the staff at Sierra Golf who provided tasty snacks after golf today!

Sponsored By The Rendezvous 608 467 597 Week 13 (01.03.10) Green Division Winning Post 5-4 Hideaway Phoenix 6-3 Borrachos Sam's Bar 5-4 Sportsmans Red Division Decades 6-3 Welcome Inn Bullies 4-5 Well'ard Allsalts 6-3 All Bar Sue Bar Molino 2-7 Havana High Scores 120 S Dolaghan (Welcome Inn), N Macbeth (Phoenix), D Field (Havana), A Hammond (Well'ard) 121 P Leemans X2 (Borrachos), P Brain (Phoenix), A Edwards (Sam's Bar), K Ellis (All Bar Sue) 123 J Storey (Phoenix), R Lintott (Molino), P Christopher X2 (Buddies) 125 K John (Decades), P Leemans, B White (Borrachos), G Toohey (Sam's Bar), K Wilkins (Allsalts), D Wenban (Buddies) 130 J Macgregor (Borrachos) 132 A Hammond (Well,Ard), 133 E Welch (Buddies) 134 R Lintott (Molino) 135 P Christopher, J Welch (Buddies) 139 J Storey (Phoenix) 140 G Bratty X2, P Brain (Phoenix), C Miller (Havana), A Edwards, D Hurcombe (Sam's Bar), M Salt (Allsalts), D Drake, C O'brien (Well'ard), P Christopher, J Welch (Buddies) 171 D Drake (Well'ard) 180 P Durrant (Allsalts) Checkouts: 114 I Ellis (Welcome Inn) The Draw Has Been Made For The Second Round Of The Knockout Cup On Monday 22.03.10. The Fixtures Are As Follows. Havana V Hideaway Phoenix V Dj's Rendezvous V All Bar Sue Well'ard V Sam's Bar Tropicana V Bullies Sportsmans V Allsalts Winning Post V Borrachos Decades received a bye as they were due to play Viva La Vida who are no longer in the league. League Table To Date Green Division Red Division Winning Post 65 Havana 69 Rendezvous 61 Allsalts 57 Borrachos 49 Well'ard 49 Sportsmans 46 Bullies 45 Phoenix 45 All Bar Sue 41 Sam's Bar 41 Dj's 41 Hideaway 29 Welcome Inn 32 Tropicana 25 Bar Molino 31 Decades 31

This weeks Hot Shots: 140x2+139+135x2+132+100x5 Karen Winter (Wildcats), 140x2+115+105+100 Pauline Lockley (Wildcats), 140+133x2+117+108+100x4 Yvonne McIntosh (Wildcats), 140+125+100x6 Shirley Edwards (Sportsmans Ladies), 140+116+100x2 Pat Rafferty (Sportsmans Ladies), 140+100x2 Ann Wharton (Office Temps), 140+100 Lisa Marshall (Samettes), 131+125 Saskia Deneuve (Wildcats), 121+118 Lesley Freelove (Black Dog Bitches), 121+100x2 Irene Russell (Busters Babes), 121+ 100x2 Mavis Shore (Black Dog Bitches), 121+100x2 Lyn Fahy (Dangerous Divas), 121+100x2 Ellen Attwood (Buster Babes), 120+118+104 Carol Moore (Samettes), 120+118 Teresa Doherty (Samettes), 117+100x2 Val Danierla (Sportsmans Ladies), 108+100x2 Diane Dane (Sportsmans Ladies), 101+100 Karina Goldie-Bowen )Dangerous Divas), 100x2 Chris Edge (Busters Babes), 165 Margaret Boden (Sportsmans Ladies), 133 Noreen Dobbs (Black Dog Bitches), 130 Sue Parlour (Samettes), 127 Flo Willis (Office Temps), 120 Julie Hallett (Busters Babes), 119 Lynn Donovan (Samettes), 116 Elaine Follow (Sportsmans Ladies), 114 Lyn Fahy (Dangerous Divas), 112 Denise Deitrich (Office Temps), 108 Pam Horton (Wildcats), 103 Ann Bartlett (Office Temps), 102 Denise Cooper (Dangerous Divas), 101 Lisa Marshall (Samettes), 100 Carole Evans (Wildcats) Captain's Meeting There will be a Captain's meeting at Sams Bar (Samettes) on Tuesday 16th March at 20.00 hrs for 20.30 hrs. Please bring your Entry Forms and money with you for the various Competitions. As usual, each team is required to bring 3 (three) Raffle Prizes for the Competitions. Please be kind enough to bring these with you to the Meeting. A suitable Venue for ALL these competitions will be decided at this Meeting, including the venue for the Final of the Diana Lloyd Memorial Shield. In the meantime, any problems please ring me. Thank you. Pam Horton 96 571 0066 darts@arrakis.es

The Director General of Trafico in Spain, Pere Navarro, has confirmed that soon, 17 year olds will be able to drive here if accompanied by an adult. The new law will come about in the near future, but the adult must have no points on his or her licence. This method has worked well in other countries, reducing the accident rate amongst younger drivers.

Or just appreciate them at least… Having spoken to several Community Presidents this week following a glut of letters to The Leader, the majority of which were less than complimentary to their particular President, I thought I'd use this week's comment article to try and calm the rage of some very unhappy residents – and there are a lot of them. We laugh about the Presidents of the Urbanisations at times. ‘Little Hitlers' is often the rather unsavoury name given them by residents and guests staying on their patch. And while there are some out there who do behave, shall we say, officiously - there are an awful lot that do the job very well indeed. Believe me, if you don't live on an urbanisation, and therefore don't have a community association then you will escape the job because everyone at some time or another (if they actually live in the same place long enough) will have to have a go. And what a job it is. Getting hauled out of bed to help the police because an alarm is going off in a property that's currently empty. Or having residents calling around while you're having lunch with the family during the afternoon to demand that you remove the ‘non-residents' from the pool. It's a role that is thankless but many out there make a damn good fist of it and get things done for the benefit of all residents, but with very little fuss. Yes, there are others (too many) whom will try and run their Urb' in military fashion, where silence is golden and kids are a noisy interruption to what should be a quiet time…around the pool. But think about it, it is always the same - the bad ones give the ones who really give it their best effort a terrible reputation, before some people have even met them. There are plenty out there carrying out the presidents role seven days a week – and there's not many who actually want to step up to the plate, but will quite happily moan about someone else who is giving it a go, at least.

We met again at Lo Romero on Friday 26th February. Seventeen ladies enjoyed a nine hole round of social golf and chatter, despite dubious weather conditions at the start. Jose Antonio and his staff looked after us well and everyone had yet again a great time. The course was in good order, we started on time without any hold ups. I think everyone had a good round and there were some pleasing scores. Our thanks to all at Lo Romero for such a good day out. Our next meeting will hopefully be at Campoamor on Friday, March 26th ... names to me as soon as possible on 699902477 if you would like to play. Please remember that this is a social golf group for players of any standard ... beginners are welcome. STOP PRESS .. Mark Shakespeare, the professional at Las Ramblas has kindly offered the ladies a free trial lesson !! Book directly with him on 622 127 225

BY ANDY ORMISTON (AUTHOR OF TORREVIEJA CAMEOS) This year Mothering Sunday for the United Kingdom falls on the 14th March, which almost coincides with the national holiday of Spanish Father's Day on the 19th March. The USA/UK Mother's Day is always in March and near to the feast of the Annunciation, 25th because this is nine months prior to Christmas Day, so I leave it to you to work out why! I prefer to call it Mothering Day as it is a time when many people can have a favourite auntie, whom they look on as a mother figure and it is nice to recognise them for the manner they may have influenced us in our lives. Many people will celebrate with a meal in a restaurant. On this day there is also a celebration in the main plaza of Torrevieja with live music and stalls with food from many countries in another Haiti fund raising event. There are bands, Russian musicians, South American dancers and music, a band of tambours and cornets and several local singers taking part. Also at this time (27th March to 12th April) until Easter is the annual Torrevieja Book Fair, which will be located in front of the Casino, and the only book in English about Torrevieja and Orihuela will be on sale at this fair. We also have 17th March when our Irish residents will be holding events for St. Patrick (who is also a patron of Lorca in Murcia) with festivals in Orihuela Costa and Daya Vieja. The Welsh have just celebrated St. David's Day and the Scots blow their pipe on St. Andrew's Day and also Burns Nite, what about the English for St. George in April? Saint Joseph is the adoptive father of Jesus and it is his feast day of 19th March that has been chosen as Father's Day in Spain. It is a general public holiday and one of the best places to be is in Valencia, a lovely and interesting city to visit at any time, but especially in the week preceding as the magnificent Fallas are set up in nearly every district in Valencia and also in some of the towns in the province. A falla is a figure of wood, papier-mâché or other inflammable material that is sculpted and painted into wonderful figures only to be destroyed by fire on the saint's day. Every day this week is a fiesta and every falla has its own beer tent with live music, dancing and feasting prior to the burning of the effigy. Some are so big that a small fee is charged so that you can walk inside them. Others are more modest, especially those designed for the children as every falla has its beauty queen. Beauty queens in traditional costumes take part in the two—day floral offering with bunches of flowers that are set in a huge wooden frame in the shape of the Virgen Mary and they become part of her mantle in a set pattern. Masceletas are an important part of these celebrations and these firecrackers are set on fire in the main town plaza each day as well as in other districts as firework manufacturers vie with one another. Another element is to eat and drink and buñuelos are a pumpkin based fried pastry sold from countless kiosks during these days. Several tour operators have excellent short three-day excursion or a visit just for the burning of the Fallas itself. Beware however, that there are huge crowd that can be too much for some people. But it is all great fun as at the end the firemen stand by to spray down the burning Fallas as well as some of the crowd. .

Monday 1st March saw Ron´s Sportsman “B” after 2 good wins take on Keith´s Tavern “C” but could only manage to win 3 games with each pair getting one. For The Tavern each pair went one better with 2 wins each to put a smile on Keith´s face. John´s Catorce “B” also lost to the same score as the Sportsman but to Tony´s La Siesta who needed a win after 8 successive losses and it was Andy and Margaret leading the charge with 3 wins while for Catorce, crestfallen Vic and Sylvia were left stranded without a win. At the ranch my Windsor “B” team with Gill and myself being rested had Bill and Sue in form with 3 wins to forge a close finish against Derek´s Mini Golf for whom Jackie and Betty sat in the shadows without a win. In the Porterhouse Terry´s Sportsman “A” took 2 of the last 3 games to eke out a win against Mary´s home “B” team who with Mary off singing for her supper in Madrid had Sue and John showing promise with 2 wins while for Terry´s team Brian and Billy won only their third game for team success. Shady´s “B” team under Dorothy´s control slipped up at home in a close match against a buoyant Toms´Catorce “A” who took their 8th successive win with 2 pairs winning 2 games while for Shady´s, it took the skill (or luck) of Martin and John to win all their 3 games for a close game. Back at the ranch Russell´s Tavern “D” team eased into a close win against Richard´s Tavern “A” to hold on to second place in the league but Mick and Carol could only get 1 win, while Phil and Edna in between their oft taken rests in Benidorm won all their 3 to give a little bit of hope to Richard for a future win. In the Oasis Ayliff´s home team had a fine win against Val´s visitors from Porterhouse with Lynda and Pam winning their 3 games 2-0 and the team going 6-0 after 2 sessions but for Porterhouse Ken and George failed miserably without a win all night. Finally at Rosa´s John´s home team just lost out to Brian´s top of the league Shady´s “A” who had out of form Brian and Shelagh with only one win to help out, while for the home side John and Brian gave Rosa´s some hope with 2 wins. Ron Sheldon

Our March Society meeting was held at RODA Golf on a very warm and sunny day where 27 members and guests took part in a team match competition. The competition took the format of the 2, 3 then 4 best Stableford scores per team to count, where the best 2 Stableford scores at hole 1 will count then the best 3 Stableford scores at hole 2 and best 4 Stableford scores at hole 3 then repeated throughout the 18 holes The results of this month's competition are: Winning Team with 109 Points – Ian McCormack, Lynne Murison, Robert Simpson and ghost player Maurice Flint. Nearest the Pins: Hole 2 – Alan Middle Hole 7 – Ian McCormack Hole 11 – Eddie McCrory Hole 13 – Peter Nolan Once again a big thank you goes to Jackie, Denis and staff at the Rocajuna Restaurant for providing a very welcome buffet after the match. Please note: The monthly outings will be played on the FIRST THURSDAY of the month. Future events: Next outing: Stapleford competition on Thursday 1st April at Vista Bella (hopefully not an omen for April fool's day). Membership of the society is available at a cost of 30 euros per year. (For more information contact Denis McCormack at the Rocajuna on 966 79 9829 or mobile 659 536 077).

We arrived to see the end of Jove's 1st team who lost to Catarroja 1-0. This is why the Thader game was at 1900 and on Saturday as there was a festival on the Sunday. Now whether it was the time or the day or lack of publicity on the game but there were only two brits there, myself and the fella I travel with. Still the game kicked off on time and once again in the first five mins Thader went ahead. A Sergi cross from the left saw Murta collect and slot past Alex in the home goal. Also as usual, the normally solid Thader defence seemed to relax and a snap shot from Gerrada went just wide. Almost straight from the goal kick Jove broke down the right and the cross saw Thader's defence all at sea and Toni was given the easiest of chances to equalise. Thader were pumping long balls up the middle again and lack of ideas up front was again letting them down. Another long ball into the Thader area and the defence were found wanting again. Coloma tried to save the situation but was unable to get to the ball and Gerrada jabbed in the loose ball and the home side went ahead. The visitors then had a great chance to draw level. When Angel left in space decided to pass the buck instead of shooting the danger was gone. Now I ask why do players who have been tapped on the ankle go down quicker than my granny on black ice and holding their face! Oh I forgot, and screaming, until the game is stopped. At the half Thader must have been wondering why they were behind, but on balance the home side deserved the lead. The second period got underway with Jove again looking good on the ball. Thader's defence seemed to have tightened up but they need to start playing as a team. It seems they always falter against teams below them. Murta almost did the trick with an over head shot that hit the bar with Alex stranded. Jove were still looking sharp but not penetrative. Thader had forgotten about Jave's runs from last week and he was playing too deep. Sergi then came up with a looping header that saw Alex scrambling but he was no doubt glad to see it just go wide. On another day these sort of chances would have nestled in the net. Now a long throw and the clearance fell to Aurelio on the eighteen yard line who rifled a low shot past Alex to level the score. Although the honours ended even Thader must feel they were unfortunate to only rescue a point in a game they should really have got more from. Next week home to Albatera in a Sunday morning 11.30 am ko. Jove Espanol B 2 - 2 Thader

At El Valle Golf Resort – 5th March 2010 With this the final “A” Division matches of the season, there were still items to be settled, but not for who was going to be the Champions, this had already been secured by Katie Reilly. But KR and captain Peter Deaves wanted to go with their tails held high as they took on La Manga North and equally the La manga team wanted a good result to edge away from the relegation zone. Well it was a close fought match and the result was a two all draw and the bonus pts going to Katie Reilly to cement their leadership, the best scores were from KR team members Rob Neil and Paul Rooney with 34 and 33 pts respectively. This result for La Manga North certainly helped their cause but they need a good result from San Miguel against Club 25 to make sure they were not in danger of the drop. And this is what San Miguel did with a 4 to Nil win over Club 25 and plunged them to last but one place. San Miguel was the days highest scoring team with some solid scoring only one player with less than 25 pts Nigel Goude their highest scorer with 33 and Joe dean with a healthy 30 pts. Club 25 best scores came from Tim Newstead 33 point and Margaret Morgan 30 pts. Captain Barry Roehrig could go off to Tenerife holiday that night a happy man. La Manga South took on a depleted san Javier team who had two players pull out because of injury and another who was injured early in the round, with nothing really at stake this was a low scoring match and La manga came out as winners. The results of the matches: La Manga S G S 3 (195 pts) vs. San Javier G S 1 (112 pts) San Miguel G S 4 (220 pts) vs. Club 25 G S 0 (205 pts) La Manga N G S 2 (209 pts) vs. Katie Reilly G S 2 (218 pts) The 3 bonus pts went to La Manga S G S, San Miguel G S, and Katie Reilly G S. From the scoring it would appear that the Jack Nicklaus course of El Valle got the better of the majority players with only 4 of the 46 scoring in excess of 30 pts. The fat lady has started to sing and with the Champions being Katie Reilly Golf Society, by a healthy 10 pts over runners up San Miguel. Congratulations to Katie Reilly Golf Society and Captain Peter Deaves and his successful team. There is a special Champions Tournament for the League teams at El Plantio in April. You will also be able to see updated Vega Baja Premier Golf League fixtures, tables, and news on the website www.vegabajapremiergolfleague.com throughout the season For more information on the Vega Baja Premier Golf League, contact The Secretary Ivie Davies 669 211 410 or golf.davies@telefonica.net

From 16th to 18th of March there will be a St. Patrick´s Day Festival on the Orihuela Costa! Saint Patrick's Day is the annual feast day which celebrates St. Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland. The feast day is generally celebrated on March 17th. Although the day is a national holiday in Ireland, it is also widely celebrated by parades and parties throughout the world, not just by the Irish but by an increasing number of non-Irish as well. A common slogan for the day is ‘Everyone's Irish on March 17th' and everybody loves a party! Every year there is a massive parade in New York to celebrate the day. This is usually watched by more than two million spectators and has around 150,000 marchers participating. In Chicago they dye the Chicago River green and in Savannah, Georgia, the fountain waters are dyed green. In many bars in the United States they also serve green beer together with ‘green' food on the day. Worldwide it is also an excuse to try out Irish beverages such as Guinness, Bailey's, Magner's, Irish Whiskey, etc. All in all, the day is a celebration party and everybody is invited! After last year's massive success locally the Ayuntamiento in Orihuela is pleased to announce that they will be organising another St Patrick's Day Festival which will be held on the parking area near the Mercadona at Playa Flamenca from the 16th to the 18th of March. This will be a mix of exhibition, market and fiesta! The celebration is organized in conjunction with the town hall of Orihuela and will include food, children's play area, Irish dancing, entertainment, music, market stalls etc. There will be something for everyone and hopefully this will become an annual event. Should you wish to know more or to organize a stall, then please contact either Diane on 634 065 463 or Naomi at 672 505 157.

Be part of a fantastic global event – and show world leaders there's still a job to be done on tackling climate change. Feel the excitement of linking up with one billion people across the planet by switching off your lights for one hour at 8.30pm on 27 March... So many of you told us you loved Earth Hour last year because it's a great way to focus attention on climate change – and climate change is something that affects everyone, and almost every species, on Earth. Help support people and wildlife threatened by climate change. Sally, show you care about our planet and be part of something world-changing and fun – sign up for WWF's Earth Hour 2010. We need you (and your lightswitch) on 27 March at 8.30pm...

In Association with Exite FM If you're into soul music and are of a certain age (i.e. roughly the same age as me), you'll no doubt remember the magazine Blues & Soul. I bought my first copy in 1976 soon after discovering soul music, and it became my bible. While my self-confessed “cool” schoolmates were reading Melody Maker and NME, and the nerds were buying Smash Hits, my musical education came from that classic soul mag. I used to buy it from my local record shop, then diligently tick-off the entries in the UK Soul Chart as I purchased each new 7” or 12” single. The albums were, sadly, too expensive for a kid on pocket money, so they were confined to the birthday and Christmas lists! Unfortunately, Blues & Soul, like many other magazines of its type, are no longer in existence in printed form. A fortnightly or monthly magazine with print deadlines simply can't compete these days with the bang-up-to-date news and reviews websites. In the case of Blues & Soul, it took the “if you can't beat them, join them” approach several years ago, and now exists as an online website (www.bluesandsoul.com). I've just started contributing a regular column for them, so please drop by and say hi some time. Check out the Soul Unsigned show on Exite Radio, every Thursday evening at 20:00, for a selection of the best independent soul music from around the world. Playlist (Mar 4th Show) Moses Mayes – Needle to the groove Live Tropical Fish – Double dream Ebony Evans – Can you handle love Adriana Evans – Set in stone Gentlemens Agreement – Breakaway Grooves Back Productions – Blow your mind Tourde4force – We got love Tashan – Soul survivor Lieca – The moment Brandon Woods – Good thing Karl Bullard – Come what may Pvibez Ft Dee Freer – No fantasy Hulon – Cisco kid Email: soulunsigned@aol.com Website: www.soulunsigned.com

Not much movement overall yesterday on Sterling as the markets paused on selling the pound. This morning we have in fact made some gains back and as we stand we are holding just above the key 1.10 level and 1.50 on GBP/USD. The 1.50 level on GBP/USD is a crucial level to hold above and will help to steady the ship and prevent further selling pressure. This morning we have seen UK PMI data come in much stronger than expected rising to 58.40 compared to the 55 expected and giving the best reading for over 3 years. On top of this consumer confidence rose to 80 and a 2 year high as consumers look ahead to a brighter 2010 for the UK economy. The good data this morning was a huge breath of fresh air for sterling giving it a welcome break from the selling momentum. So after being sold aggressively across the markets on Monday the markets have taken a breather and we now await the next move. First let us dissect why the drop in sterling which fell over 2% against the USD pushing it to a 10 month low. Well the focus is political with the opinion polls over the weekend indicating that the chances of a hung parliament were much higher- so why does this cause a problem? A hung parliament may actually prove successful, however the markets do not like uncertainty and the consensus is that a coalition government will have less political clout to push through the decisive decisions especially in relation to tough fiscal planning which is inevitable. The Conservatives came out of the traps on Tuesday stating that protecting the AAA status is central to their plans- however some feel their proposed aggressive cuts will be detrimental to recovery. On the other hand Labour propose to wait and cut later but waiting too long could mean that the horse has already bolted and the AAA rating could be lost. So this uncertainty and division is leading to a weaker pound. Yes this could be good for the UK economy and for recovery but there is a fine line between a weaker pound and the loss of confidence in Sterling and the UK economy- this would lead to a sharp rise in import prices and inflationary pressure especially if commodity prices remain high- not good; this would spill into a pressure on the UK gilt markets and inevitably the UK losing the AAA rating adding yet more pressure. So you can see the problem that uncertainty is creating. EUR/USD has picked up this morning beyond 1.36 following the leaked news of an austerity package for Greece totalling 4.8 billion euros. There is still uncertainty on the level of support that Greece will receive from the EU and the Greek PM tactically said that the cabinet may turn to the IMF if the EU does not give support- nice move…if we get further clarity on the level of EU support then this should lift the euro further. In addition it will help lead to selling pressure on USD and the JPY and hopefully boost the pound as confidence improves. Information provided by Currencies Direct, leading providers of foreign exchange. Call to find out how we can help you get the best rates and save your transfer fees. Contact the La Zenia office on +34 965 994 830 or email costablanca@currenciesdirect.com. The contents of this report are for information purposes only. It is not intended as a recommendation to trade or a solicitation for funds. Currencies Direct cannot be held responsible for any loss or damages arising from any action taken following consideration of this information.

IF a woman finds that the kind and considerate man she has lived with for years suddenly stops helping with the washing and bridles at taking out the rubbish, it is probably because the couple have got married. Academics have found cohabiting couples are far more likely than those who are married to split housework evenly - but after the wedding they revert to stereotype, with the woman taking on the great majority of tasks. The study argues that the effect holds true even in couples with a strongly egalitarian outlook before they are married, at which point women become less likely to fight for their rights. “Marriage is generally accompanied by expectations of permanence that may not be the case in a cohabiting relationship,” says the research by American academics to be published in the Journal of Family Issues. “Cohabitors, therefore, may be more prone to aggressive bargaining when it comes to exchanges of time and effort in the household, and less willing to do more than what they perceive as their fair share.” The researchers, based at North Carolina State and George Mason universities, took data from more than 17,000 people in 28 countries. Overall, men averaged 9.41 hours' housework per week and women 21.13 hours. It found that the higher the marriage rate in each country, the higher the proportion of housework carried out by women. British men come in 10th place, performing 35% of chores, well below the most egalitarian countries of Denmark, Finland and Norway. The Scandinavian countries, as well as splitting housework more evenly, also have the highest cohabitation rates. Anna Addison, 30, who lives in Middlesbrough with her husband Paul, said: “When we first moved in, the novelty of living together meant we shared the housework. “It was the same for the first year after we got married, but when I got a nine-to-five job everything was left to the weekends and I ended up doing it all myself. “Paul definitely changed after marriage. I do rely on him for some technical things in the house but, for housework, it's just me now.” Frank Hanna, co-founder of the Mediation Agency and author of a book on conflict resolution, said: “With cohabitation, to put it bluntly, there's no contract and the likelihood of a more peaceful relationship is higher than in a marriage. When marriage takes place, the race is over. Men see the requirement to behave as starting to diminish.” Do you Leader readers agree with this or are there some men out there who break the mould?

Last Saturday CT Torrevieja was the venue for the semifinals of the Valencia under-14 second division tennis championships between the Tennis Club Torrevieja and CTSa. The match, which was very even, was tied at 3 to 3 after the six singles matches but in the3 final double fixture Torrevieja edged the victory to win the trophy with a final result of 5 to 4. The final will be played against the Club de Tenis Las Vegas of Valencia This great triumph, as well as the achievement of reaching the final of this prestigious competition, is the establishment of a first division Torrevieja team in Valencia tennis that comprises of the top eight teams in the Community. The current team is composed torrevejense David Caprotta, Zakhar Trapeznikov, Nicola Kuhn, Mikko Malinen, John Rosique, Giulia Markaryan, Naomi Perez, David Ruiz, Joshua Murphy, Antonio Tafalla, Isabel Lucas and Aidan Delgado Also a noteworthy victory of the +45 veterans by 6 to 3 over Sporting CT Valencia in the championship quarterfinals of the Valencia tournament leaving them just one win from promotion to the first division.

I have to start this week by thanking each and every one of you for giving me a very special birthday. From the amount of messages I received on Facebook and through the radio, to my surprise party organized by Nick, Jaz & Rani at Rani's Indian restaurant to my best friend Gina who I dined with my official birthday and to the lovely Leader ladies who treated me to a beautiful princess cake and some cheeky champagne. Turning 28 wasn't that bad after all and sure it had to be done whether I liked it or not! We had a great meal at the Indian, cha cha-ed around the Citrus Commercial Centre and broke a few plates thanks to Zorba the Greek. I had the most stunning flowers delivered to the studio on the 3rd, courtesy of my Fiancée, then that evening went for dinner to a German Cafeteria in Punta Prima where the food was delicious and us girlies spent a fair few hours chatting about all sorts, and I mean all sorts. I hope every year will be just as good. The only downside to the whole thing was managing to get myself locked out of my own house and with the help of some good friends, a massive ladder and Steve from the ‘Wheelie free mobility centre' I did get to my bed eventually! Another thing I have to mention is the Karaoke every Sunday afternoon at Pablo's International bar with our Nick Hawkins. It really is a great afternoon of fun and I'd recommend it anyone. There were loads of us out to it last Sunday and boy did we have a great time. Thanks to Maggie & Paul for putting up with us and our craziness. It just seems THE place to be on a Sunday nowadays but it does fill up early so you genuinely need to get there early enough to get a good seat. Also to let you know that there will be a C.D going on sale pretty soon with all monies raised going to the Baby Pablo's fight for life appeal. A handful of local singers have got together, joined forces in the recording studio and have sang both solo songs and a group performance of Labi Siffre's ‘Something inside so strong. Keep listening to Exite Radio for further details of when and where you can get your hands on a copy. There's also a Fundraising Black & White ball taking place at ‘Eduardo's' in Villamartin on the 12th March and for further information on tickets or anything else you need to know, you can call Yvonne on 670-706-194. A full night's top class entertainment with wonderful dining is in store all to raise as much money as possible for the ongoing operations that baby Pablo needs now and will need in the near future. Well I hope you're sticking to all your promises which you made for Lent? If not, shame on yis! Well shame on me really as I've been a bit greedy this year and gave up nothing. xXx

Want to relocate back to England? Can´t afford UK prices? Then we can help. During the recent property boom thousands of people realised their dream of moving to the warmer climes of Spain.However, the global recession has hit, resulting in significant declines in property values. With Spain being on one of the worst affected countries, property prices have plummeted and many people, whose dream has not worked out, have been left in the impossible position of not being able to move back to England, as they simply cannot sell their property for a reasonable price, and one which would enable them to afford a nice property in the UK. This is where Homewise comes in Homewise is a family run business with more than 30 years experience in providing lifetime leases to people over 60. The Homewise Lifetime Lease was a concept pioneered by the Neal family 3 decades ago. Since then they have helped thousands of people by providing an easy and affordable way to move home. They are proud to be partnered with some of the UK´s largest estate agents, who introduce the Lifetime Lease to their applicants. With the Lifetime Lease you can sell your Spanish property at a significantly reduced price, and still move back to the UK to a property which has been significantly discounted. For example, if the value of the property you would like to buy is £150,000, you will pay just £105,000. This example is based on a 30% discount. Each different case will receive a personalised discounted rate. As an agent for Homewise UK, Keith Wilkin has teamed up with Sunworldproperties.es , who are located in accessible offices in the Costa Blanca. Sunworld.es is a family run business owned by Vic and Sonya Copper, with more than ten years experience under their belt in the Spanish property market. We are sure this unique partnership will help expats who want to relocate back to the UK. If you would like to find out more about the Lifetime Lease or other Homewise services please contact their registered consultant Keith Wilkin on 0034 966 764 299(office) or 649 782 767 (mobile).

A good place to start fishing in the region of Murcia is in the city centre just opposite the large Eroski supermarket, there is a lot of parking on both sides of the river. This area of the river is catch and release only and no fish are to be removed. In the river you will find Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Barbel, Gold fish, Koi type, Bleak and Sun fish. The best baits as always are corn, maggots, various pastes, pellets, punched bread, bread flake and worms. The use of keep nets in Murcia is only allowed for pleasure fishing under the following rule: No use of ground bait and no loose feeding are allowed. Keep nets are allowed with the use of ground bait etc in matches that have been booked with the Fishing Federation and all anglers are to be individually Federated with the club involved. Moving up the river I find the next area to fish is the section by the metal road bridge in Archena. This is just as you are entering into the town. The fishing is not that easy but I have caught some nice Carp and Barbel- all caught on the feeder, using corn, maize, pellet bread, flake and worm. Maggots gets taken by the bleak. Further up the river you will come to the old town of Blanca. Hear the river runs clear and you may catch Carp, Barbel, Black Bass, and if very lucky a Trout or a Zander. Be careful as a lot of stretches can be private Trout waters. From Blanca you go through Abaran then on to Cieza, the last time I was up there the river was running fast and coloured and there were only a very few places that you could fish. The Embalse de Ojós at Blanca. The River Segura runs through this water on the outskirts of the town. Here you will find Carp both Common and Mirror, Bleak, Barbel, some Trout, Zander and Black Bass. The locals spin using small lures for the bass, but I have caught them on worm and have had small Bleak taken when pleasure fishing, then all hell breaks out. A lot of the time the fishing is hard, but it's a venue well worth trying. CARP-R-US NEWS The results of the last Carp-R-Us match held on the drain in La Marina were 1st Bob Rafferty, 2nd Barry Homer, 3rd Roy Buttress and 4th John Brightling. On the day the weather was kind to us and the water looked in good condition, but the fishing was very slow. The best fish reported this week by a member was a Common Carp or just over 8lbs caught locally. The Clubs A.G.M. is on Tuesday the 9th of March at 7.30. From this month on, the club will be holding 2 Quiz nights each month. In March these will be on Tuesday the 16th and then on Tuesday the 30th time 7.00 for a 7.30 start. The cost is 1 Euro each and a finger buffet is provided -all are welcome. The next club meeting after the A.G.M. will be on Sunday the 21st of March at 11.00am. The committee will meet at 10.00 am. The club meets at the Bar El Alto La Dolores just off the new roundabout on the N332 between La Mata and Guardamar. For any further information on joining the club contact Colin Brinkley on 966712351 or E Mail rojales1@gmail.com or visit the clubs website www.carprus.net.

Despite rumours of disbandment, which have recently been circulating, Carp-R-Us; a thriving Sports and Social Club, is very much 'alive and kicking', Club members are as always, keen to support local Charities. Every year, charities are nominated, and those chosen by Club members are supported throughout that year. Money is raised through different activities, and distributed at the end of the Club year. In 2009, APAH and SAT; two local Animal Rescue Charities, and DEBRA (the Butterfly Children), were Carp-R-Us's chosen Charities. Fund -raising events during the year included a Sponsored Fishing Match and two 'Crazy Golf Days' at a venue in Quesada, which proved to be very popular. Carp-R-Us's bank; Cajamurcia, also chose, through the Club, to make a separate donation of 300 Euros to DEBRA. At the end of the Club year, a total of 1,625 Euros was divided between the three Charities and representatives of each one were delighted to be invited to the Carp-R-Us Club Meeting, held on Sunday 21st February at the bar El Alto la Dolores, off the N332, to accept their cheques. Carp-R-Us welcomes any enquiries from people interested in joining, and information on the Club can be found on its web site, www.carprus.net. or by contacting Colin Brinkley, the Club's New Members Secretary on telephone number 966 712 351, E mail rojales1@gmail.com.

Sporting Alfas C.C. of Albir invited San Fulgencio C.C sponsored by www.flightm8.com to send a team to Alfas for their first match of the 2010 campaign. This was a return fixture as S.F.C.C. had entertained Alfas in our Clubs very first match on the Market Place in La Marina. For our team it was nice to get grass under our feet again after so many weeks and months training on tarmac The fixture list will tell you that we played the Alfas first team in reality it was more a mixture of second teamers, midweek and Academy Players. Alfas didn't have much choice in this as almost their entire first team squad were at the Spanish senior trials at La Manga We did not think that there would be a more favourable time to give Alfas a close game, unfortunately when it came for us to select a side we too were short of a few recognised first teamers, but this gave us a chance to field some players who may not have had much of an opportunity otherwise The toss was made and S.F.C.C. Skipper Bob Norton Invited Alfas to bat, the plan was for a few quick wickets then give our other bowlers a game however, things never turn out how they are planned, David Climent gave Alfas a solid start and his good work was continued by Chris Cooper who scored a half century. Then ex Nottinghamshire player Paul Taylor kept the scoreboard ticking over and was unbeaten at the end with an accomplished 59 under his belt, but our bowlers kept at it and showed good promise for the forthcoming League campaign, we restricted Alfas to 164 from 30 overs but at least 6 catches were dropped and if these had been held then an altogether different report would have been written, in any case congratulations must go to Adam Alger, Kieron Ward and Charlie Baker who each got one wicket When it was our turn to bat we had our doubts because we had never scored more than 80 in a match, after both openers fell cheaply it was the turn of new player Leigh Blann from Gran Alacant to push the score along, and he top scored with 29 valuable runs to keep us up with the run rate. When Leigh fell Gary "smurf " Williams tried some innovative shots but fell cheaply, Graham Shelton in the middle order looks better with each passing match, then it was the turn of Chairman Jon Alger and with some lusty blows he hit a quick fire 28 At the end it was down to David Riley and Michael Carter to try and bat out the overs but we were bowled out for 131 our best ever score as a team, and when we reviewed the match later in Mix bar on La Marina we all agreed that the day had been a very successful one For more information or history on S.F.C.C. then join the 2,450 people who looked at our website in February www.CostaBlancaFootball.com/sanfulgenciocricket

In 2002 four Engish speaking people started to attend meetings of the local Spanish Evangelical church in Pilar. The church met in a small, hot garage and there was no translation of the Spanish service into English. In 2004 the church moved into a new building in Calle Integracion and with the support of other English speakers, it was decided to start a seperate English speaking service. The congregation numbered approximately ten people and met in the morning, whilst the Spanish church met in the evening. Various people assumed leadership responsibilities until on 1st August 2009 the church called a pastor, Rev. Eddie Martens, who was inducted in September 2009. The church is now moving to larger premises in the beginning of March 2010 at Calle Canalejas 3, (opposite the Pilar Cinema ), Pilar de la Horadada, 03190. There is now a membership of approximately forty people, plus those who join us as they arrive for holidays, some very short term holidays others staying for a matter of months. Pilar Christian Community Church is an interdenominational church, we welcome people from every other christian tradition, having amongst us people from Anglican, Methodist, Pentecostal, Congregational, Baptist and Free Evangelical traditions. We particularly welcome those, who have not regularly attended any church before. Our Sunday morning service at 11 A.M. is a relaxed and lively affair, encouraging congregational participation and there is a time of fellowship afterwards, when people are encouraged to mix over a cup of tea and refreshments. There is a mid-week meeting at 5 P.M. on Thursdays and there are house groups at different locations during the week. Come and join us for any service and be blessed.

Mothering Sunday has been celebrated in the UK on the fourth Sunday in Lent since at least the 16th century. This year it falls on March 14th. Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain on the first Sunday in May, so British Mums in Spain may manage to have two days to celebrate. No one is absolutely certain exactly how the idea of Mothering Sunday began in the UK. However, it is known that on this day, about four hundred years ago, people made a point of visiting their nearest big church (the Mother Church), usually a cathedral. People who visited their mother church would say they had gone "a mothering." Young British girls and boys 'in service', that is maids and servants, (it was quite common in those days for children to leave home for work once they were ten years old), were only allowed one day to visit their family each year. This was usually Mothering Sunday. Often the housekeeper or cook would allow the maids to bake a cake to take home for their mother. Sometimes a gift of eggs; or flowers from the garden (or hothouse) was allowed. Flowers were traditional, as the young girls and boys would have to walk home to their village, and could gather them on their way home through the meadows. Mothering Sunday is also sometimes known as Simnel Sunday because of the tradition of baking Simnel cakes. The Simnel cake is a fruit cake. A flat layer of marzipan (sugar almond paste) is placed on top of and decorated with 11 marzipan balls representing the 12 apostles minus Judas, who betrayed Christ. Today it is a day when children give presents, flowers, and home-made cards to their mothers. And make them feel special.

Burns are classified into three degrees of severity: superficial (redness and swelling); Intermediate (swelling and blistering); Deep (numbness and charring) They can be caused by dry heat or moist heat (scalds) and are amongst the most common house hold injuries. Burns can also be caused by contact with chemicals, radiation or electricity. For burns……….. Immediately hold the affected area under a cold tap for at least 10 minutes, then apply neat Lavender or Tea Tree to the burn. Reapply at least 3 times a day until the skin has healed. For larger areas, especially if there is inflammation, apply an ice compress. Gently apply a lotion made from 8 to 10 drops each of Lavender and German Chamomile in a 50ml bottle of distilled water or Lavender water, shaken well. Shake the bottle before you use it every time. Cover with a sterile gauze treated with a few drops of Lavender, Tea Tree or German Chamomile. Replace the dressing every few hours. Do not use adhesive plasters. Cuts/Wounds Small cuts, grazes and scratches are some of the most common injuries. If glass, rust, splinters or dirt are involved, special care should be taken to avoid secondary infection. For cuts…………. Firstly, cleanse the area with water, removing any dirt or fragments. Apply a few drops of neat Lavender or Chamomile. Apply 2 or 3 times a day. Cover larger injuries with a sterile gauze semi-saturated with Lavender or Tea Tree oil. If the wound is slow to heal or weeping, include 2 or 3 drops of Myrhh. Lavender and Tea Tree are the best first aid remedies to have in your cupboard due to their excellent anti septic and wound healing properties. They do not sting the exposed raw skin even when applied neat and they encourage a rich flow of blood to the damaged area. They also prevent scarring. Tea Tree is especially effective for septic conditions and dirty wounds. Oil safety: Chamomile – can cause dermatitis in some people (use fewer drops if you have sensitive skin); Tea Tree – possible sensitisation in some people; Myrrh – do not use during pregnancy and do not use in high concentrations Penny is a qualified aromatherapist, reflexologist, beauty therapist, holistic therapist, Reiki Master, Angel teacher and counsellor. If you wish to contact Penny please tel: 680 25 6266 or email via her website: www.pennywing.com

Lion President Diane Walsh is delighted to announce the 5th Anniversary of the Torrevieja Costa Lions Club Charter, and invites everyone who has had association with the Lions either past or present to join the celebrations, in addition, for those interested in finding out about the Lions, the night provides an ideal opportunity to enjoy a fabulous evening in the company of Lion members from all over the Costa Blanca. For those of you who merely want an excellent night out, this is for you too. The event provides the opportunity to attend a formal black tie dinner and dance, a rarity here on the Costas. Charter Night this year is being held in The Real Golf Hotel on the Campoamor Golf Resort on Saturday 20th March 2010. The evening commences at 1930hrs with a Cava and Canapes reception where guests will be greeted and made most welcome by Lion Members. Following the reception guests will be called to dinner, where a lovely three course dinner will be provided, with wine, local beers and water at the table. There will be some fun and games provided throughout the evening and the opportunity for guests to win some wonderful prizes. After the formal part of the proceedings guests can dance the night away to the music of Infinity Duo who play to suit all tastes. The price of tickets for this evening of celebration has been kept down to an inflation beating 35.00 euros per person which represents wonderful value for an evening in such pleasant surroundings. Tickets are now available from any Torrevieja Costa Lions member or by contacting Lions Treasurer Janette Bennett on 966 731 495 or janbee2007@hotmail.co.uk

“GOGARTY'S had their Charity night on Wednesday the 27th February, organised by Tracey and Ellie. The turn out was better than expected with the bar full with people having a great fun night out with lots of prizes, sponsored by lots of business in the area. Willie also gave up his time to help with the smooth running of the event. Willie plays on Sundays and Monday evenings. The night started with Blind Date, which was won by Joe (Bar Med) picking his date (Jane), and winning a meal for two sponsored by Buddha Tandoori Restaurant ,Via Park 2. The runners up also won a blow dry sponsored by Viva Hair Studio in Blue Lagoon, and the other runner up won a Pedicure, sponsored by the hair studio Via Park 2. There where plenty of raffle prizes on offer sponsored by, the Celtic Sun, Euronics, Consum, Alejandro's Restaurant, Buddies Bar Via park 2, Sam Wedges Café La Zenia, and Ponderosa La Zenia. There was also an auction held to make extra money for Haiti, Call-Net La Zenia sponsored a mobile phone and Looking Good Boutque sponsored a lovely necklace. The money raised on the night amounted to over 500€. Gogarty's Bar's Tracey, Ellie and James, would like to thank all the sponsors and customers for their support, and hope everyone had a fun evening.

On the 28th March at 12 noon, there will be a Sponsored High Heel Hike in support of Help for Heroes. No, not a hike up a high hill... A hike in ‘high heels' through Alfaz del Pi then on to and through Benidorm. The route takes approximately five hours to cover but that is including the numerous ‘pitstops' in about fifteen bars on the way! Lots of fun will be had by all and so far, it's looking like the men participators are outnumbering the ladies! Philip Mann the chiropodist will be on hand to ‘patch up' any sore feet and Top Notch will be putting on an ‘after hike BBQ' for all the hikers, again with all proceeds going to Help for Heroes. If you would like to take part in this event or would like to donate to this worthy cause, please contact Sam on 672184894 or email sam@coast2coast-magazine.com As you know, we often hear of the brave soldiers killed in combat but little is said about those poor heroes who are terribly injured. This is where Help for Heroes has an invaluable role providing practical and direct support for our wounded. Please take a moment to read their mission statement.... "It's about the blokes, our men and women of the Armed Forces. It's about Derek, a rugby player who has lost both his legs, it's about Carl whose jaw is wired up so he has been drinking through a straw. It's about Richard who was handed a mobile phone as he lay on the stretcher so he could say goodbye to his wife. It's about Ben, it's about Steven and Andy and Mark, it's about them all. They are just blokes but they are our blokes; they are our heroes. We want to help our heroes." So please, dig deep for their endeavours or put your heels on and join in! The more, the merrier! Regular updates can be found on the Facebook group ‘Sponsored High Heel Hike for Help for Heroes'.

DONNA GEE goes ashtray bashing over one of the most contentious issues affecting Brits in Spain, namely whether smoking should be allowed in bars and restaurants. My friends Jane and Graham Lilley are considering the likely effects if they were to ban smoking inside their bar/bistro at El Raso. Like other bars in their area, they fear it will hit their business. As a confirmed ashtray-basher, I believe it would have the opposite effect, if not immediately then certainly once fervent non-smokers become aware a fresh-air zone had finally surfaced in the local commercial centre. Let's face it, how many people – including cigarette addicts – actually ENJOY eating in a smoky environment? OK, our Spanish amigos presumably do, but that's because finding a Spaniard who doesn't smoke is like unearthing a married Premier League footballer who can resist playing the field. According to the Office of National Statistics, the percentage of British adults who smoke dropped from 39% in 1980 to 21% in 2007, when the legislation against smoking in public places took effect. I take the never-ending stories of Spain's sit-on-the-fence legislators bringing in a blanket smoking ban this year with a pinch of salt. The existing law is so woolly and ineffective that it might as well not be there – and I find it difficult to believe that the tobacco-obsessed Spanish would actually observe such a law, anyway. Fag-addicted Brits complain that the UK law is too stringent and I accept that they do have a case of sorts. My philosophy is that if consenting adults wish to impregnate each other's lungs with a terminal disease in private, that's their business. Just as long as the rest of us aren't expected to participate in the suicide attacks on healthy living by inhaling the residue of their habit. The problem at El Raso is that the only way non-smokers can escape a coughing fit is to stay away from the bars. None of the four hostelries on the urbanisation (I exclude exclusive restaurants like Stan and Ollies) has a no-smoking area, even though they all serve food, which means that tobacco addicts are free to blow their fumes into anyone and everyone's dinner. Claire Tyson, who runs Rayz Bar next door to Ricardo's, believes a no-smoking policy would decimate her business – particularly in the off season. ‘‘The majority of my customers are smokers,'' she says, ‘‘and they enjoy the fact that they don't have to abide by the English laws where cigarettes are concerned. In the summer, they'd have no problem going outside to smoke, but if they had to do it in the winter I think they would just find somewhere else where smoking is allowed.'' Only once has anyone ever asked me in a bar or restaurant if I had any objection to them smoking and that was in England so long ago that I can't even remember where it was. Anyway, I made it pretty clear I would throw my knife and fork out of the cot if the young lady concerned lit up, and immediately felt guilty because she had been courteous enough to ask. It's 30 years since I gave up my own 20-a-day habit after listening to an LP by a hypnotist which I took initially as a joke. Before turning in one night, I sat and listened to this guy's soothing voice telling me to close my eyes and imagine I was sunbathing in an idyllic scenario on a tropical island beach. I was in paradise, he assured me, except for this ‘'horrible, stinking weed'' in my hand. ‘'Get it out of your life,'' he ordered. ‘'Throw it as far as you can and tell yourself you'll never touch it again as long as you live.'' I went to bed laughing to myself, with no real intention of giving up. Yet when I got out of bed the next morning, I told myself, ‘‘I'm not going to smoke today''. And from that day to this, the thought of taking even a single drag on a ciggy has revolted me ever increasingly. Even more bizarrely, a few weeks later my late mother-in-law, who had been a lifelong smoker, listened to the same LP one evening. She never smoked again until the day she died. So where can we get hold of this record, I hear hordes of would-be ex-smokers asking. The answer is I don't know. I always thought the hypnotist's name was Edwin Starr, but since the only Edwin Starr on the internet appears to be the late soul singer, I guess that time has distorted my memory. If anyone out there can enlighten Leader readers on the hypnotist's identity, and where they might still hear that LP, then please get in touch. You could make an awful lot of would-be quitters very happy. Anyway, back to El Raso and Jane and Graham's honourable intentions at Ricardo's. While they might lose some of the casual customers who prop up the bar with a beer in one hand and a fag in the other, would this not be more than balanced by an influx of those who would at last know they could eat in a smoke-free environment? John Latham and Ken Brewster, who run the classy, Hollywood-themed Oscars café bar in Quesada, certainly have no regrets after going smoke-free when they took over the old Casi Casi premises a couple of years ago. ‘'We did lose a few people who used to come in just for a drink and a smoke,'' they tell me. ‘'But that has been more than balanced by a much cleaner atmosphere both for our diners and ourselves. We also have lots of people coming in now who would not have dreamt of eating here when smoking was allowed.'' It's easy to see why. With only 20 inside covers for diners, the addition of a row of beer-swilling smokers at the bar could only have a negative effect on the food side of the business. It's a bit of a Catch 22 situation really. Allow smoking and ostracise your non-smoking diners; ban it and risk losing your regular drinkers. To mix the cocktail even more at Ricardo's, it's pure conjecture whether sufficient non-smokers would move in to replace the alienated smokers – and whether a cigarette-free environment would be the kiss of death for Jane and Graham's business. What do YOU think? Write and tell The Leader or, if you prefer, email me at Donna773@aol.com PS. Isn't it remarkable that the people who smoke the most often seem to be those who look as if they can least afford it? But let's not go there just now - I've kicked smokers in the butt enough for one week.

‘Twitters from the Atlantic' - by Barrie Mahoney Barrie Mahoney was a teacher, head teacher and school inspector in the UK, as well as a reporter in Spain, before moving to the Canary Islands as a newspaper editor. He is still enjoying life in the sun as a writer and author. “Lots of Love” or “Laugh Out Loud”? Forget learning to speak Spanish! It is Textonyms or Textese, also known as SMS language, chatspeak, texting language or txt talk, that we should really be learning as the new language in our newly adopted country. It all used to be so beautifully simple. In the old days it was rather easy. As a schoolboy, if one was feeling particularly lovesick, passionate or saucy we would blush deeply and include something like SWALK (“Sealed With A Loving Kiss) on the back of the envelope containing our illicit message and wicked intentions. Indeed if one was feeling especially naughty, or totally outrageous, we would write ‘BURMA' on the back of the envelope. (“Be Undressed and Ready My Angel”). Straightforward and to the point, wasn't it? We all knew where we were and there would be no misunderstandings, right? Goodness knows what the jargon of today really means. I love to receive text messages, and particularly those from one of my friends in the UK, but I have to confess that I rarely understand them. Although a perfectly competent speller in real life, the dear boy suddenly seems to enter a world of total linguistic incompetence, nay insanity, when sending text messages to me. It is not only that they read as total nonsense, but also they don't seem to save on many words or letters. In any case, do mobile phone companies really charge for the number of letters that are sent nowadays or is it that we all need an excuse to reduce the English language to the barest of bare bones in order to communicate effectively on these modern devices? I have, in the past, been very pleasantly surprised to receive messages from texters and emailers ending with LOL, which I had assumed was a term of endearment, if not affection, meaning lots of love - endless affection that, if you think about it, is rather nice. These are very pleasant to receive and make one realise that the world isn't such a bad place after all. However, my naive bubble has at last burst and I can confess that I have been saddened to discover that these promises of endless, unending affection are not what they seem. Actually, it means “laugh out loud” or “loads of laughs”, which I don't find at all amusing. It is highly disappointing to at last face the reality that all my friendly texters didn't actually love me after all. Yes, I know that anyone over the age of 40 is now regarded as a boring old fart with one foot in the grave, but my plea is that I do try. I do understand ‘gr8' means “great”, ‘ru' means “are you?” and that ‘cryn' means “crying”, but why not crayon? See my problem? In my youth we often used to use the expression ‘TTFN' - maybe following the expressions of some comedian of the day, I cannot remember whom, which meant, quite simply, “Ta, ta for now”, simple eh? Nowadays, modern texters even use a combination of jumbled letters in their text messages which are little more than secret code that would have made the secret agents very proud. So if they say ‘ttyl, lol' they probably mean "talk to you later, lots of love" not "talk to you later, laugh out loud"; and if someone says "omg, lol" they probably mean "oh my god, laugh out loud" not "oh my god, lots of love". Are you confused as well? It seems that for words that have no common abbreviation, texters simply remove the vowels from a word, and the reader is forced to interpret a string of consonants by adding the vowels when they receive the message. So "dictionary" becomes "dctnry", or "keyboard" becomes "kybrd". It is up to the frustrated reader to interpret the abbreviated words within the context in which it is used. Yes, I know that language develops and grows and that it is natural for children and young people to play with and adapt language for their own use. We all did it, except that we didn't send text messages, just verbal abuse, which was so much pleasanter. Context is the clue to all this business of trying to read and interpret txtese, and is probably the reason why I shall do my best never to use it. Just imagine the problems that we could get ourselves into! BBFN (bye, bye for now)! If you enjoyed this article, take a look at Barrie's website: www.barriemahoney.com or read his latest novel, ‘Journeys and Jigsaws' (ISBN: 9781843865384). © Barrie Mahoney

On 20th March 2010 a team from INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL RESCUE will be visiting Orihuela Costa to trap and sterilise feral cats in that and surrounding areas. They will be here for one week and the purpose is to reduce the numbers of feral cats and to offer a healthier lifestyle for the current cats. If you have feral cats which require sterilising please telephone ASSOCIACION STREET CATS on 661 077589 in order that your details may be entered onto the list being prepared.

A mother's instinct is to protect her child, and if there is any threat of that child being taken away, then the parents won't just sit around waiting. Two families from Suffolk have fled the UK rather than face the risk of having their babies taken from them by the courts. In a strange coincidence, both families are now living in Los Montesinos, and are next door neighbours. Dale and Lorraine Coote's daughter Megan from Kesgrave near Ipswich has learning difficulties. After an assessment by social services, the family have been told the child could be taken away. Another couple, Carissa and Jim, fled to Spain just before Christmas to prevent their unborn child being seized by social workers. Their daughter, who is now 18 months old, was removed from their care at 11 weeks and put up for adoption because they were declared unfit parents. Both cases have been taken up by Conservative MP Tim Yeo, who said there was no justification for the intervention and accused Suffolk Social Services of being 'child kidnappers'. Carissa, 32, gave birth to her 6lb 1oz son by caesarean section at Torrevieja Hospital on the Costa Blanca two weeks ago. Fighting back tears she said, 'I am so very happy because of my beautiful new son. He is wonderful and means the world to us. But at the same time I am sad because his older sister should be here with us. It terrifies me to think they might never meet. Her husband, a 41-year-old lorry driver, added: 'We are still fighting tooth and nail to get our daughter back and complete our family. We are very happy to be here in Spain, where it seems social services want to help us, rather than split us up.' He described how social workers began monitoring Carissa and Jim after the birth of their daughter, referred to as Poppy, in August 2008. They waited until Jim was out at work one day, 11 weeks later, to swoop on the couple's home with police and 'snatch the baby from the arms of her mother'. In the ensuing legal battle, the council repeatedly changed its grounds for intervening, alternating between blaming one parent and then the other. Carissa was accused of having factitious disorder - a condition in which sufferers feign illness or exaggerate symptoms. She was also alleged to have claimed her son suffered from various illnesses. She denied both claims. Jim was assessed by a doctor to be a 'pathological liar', but later a consultant clinical psychologist 'would not endorse the expression'. The couple have had no contact with their daughter, who is with adoptive parents, for 15 weeks. They hope to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights to get her back but unless it can act within the next few months the adoption will be finalised. Jim said: 'We're never going back to the UK. All we want is to be able to raise our family. We are not bad parents, we love our children.' On Friday the Times reported that Spanish authorities had made a dramatic intervention. Spanish officials, acting on information from Suffolk social services, arrived at the hospital where Carissa was still breastfeeding two-week-old Jim Junior. The baby is now in the care of Spanish foster parents. Tim Yeo demanded that Suffolk County Council provide the legal ground on which they passed “completely unfounded allegations” to the Spanish authorities. “It is a very questionable form of intervention by British social services,” he said. “In what I view as a vindictive way they have chased this couple a thousand miles away to try to inflict yet more distress.” The Spanish authorities' decision to remove the baby from this couple is a stark warning to the increasing number of British parents seeking refuge overseas in an attempt to keep their families together. Megan Coote, 21, and her mother Lorraine know well the uncertainty that now grips this other family. The fear that Suffolk social services would take Megan's baby in the delivery room is what drove them, too, to leave their old life in Kesgrave and relocate to Spain. Olivia Coote was born on February 15, two days before Jim junior. Suffolk social services claimed yesterday that they were simply following standard procedure and denied any prior knowledge of the action taken by the Spanish authorities. But their words offered little comfort to Mr Smith, 41, and his 32-year old wife. Days earlier the Coote family had also answered the door to find Spanish social workers on the doorstep. They had come to check up on Megan and Olivia, but to the Cootes' relief left after a few minutes with nothing more menacing than a smile and the offer of baby milk if needed. Pale and young-looking for her years, Megan Coote, 21, had learning difficulties diagnosed as a child. When she became pregnant by her violent ex-boyfriend last year, Suffolk social services conducted a psychological assessment that highlighted concerns about her low IQ and inability to show emotion. It concluded that she was unable to look after herself or her baby. Angry and frustrated at the lack of support their daughter has received from social services in the past, Megan's parents insisted that she should be given a chance at proving herself and pushed for a place in the mother and baby unit in Peterborough. When it became apparent that Megan would not be allowed to keep the child, the Cootes put themselves forward as potential foster parents. They became concerned after a viability assessment criticised Mr Coote, a successful local businessman and father of three, for previously smacking his children to discipline them. They were also told that the 12-week assessment would not be able to start until Olivia's birth, ensuring that she would have to spend time in foster care. Worried that her grandchild would vanish into adoption, Mrs Coote felt that she had no choice but to leave her four-bedroom house, her three dogs and Dale, her husband of 25 years, and go with her daughter to Spain. “I was crying. I just kept thinking and thinking – if I go Megan's going to have a chance. If I don't go, Megan's going to lose her baby,” she said. “Then I got up and I said to Dale, ‘We're going'. My stomach was in knots but I knew that I was doing the right thing.” John Hemming, MP and chairman of Justice for Families, knows of five refugee families in Spain. He believes the number of couples choosing to go abroad will increase as families lose faith in British procedure. “You can see why people want to get out. People recognise that you do not get a fair trial in the family courts. The system is stacked against parents,” he said. “Going abroad gives you a chance to have a family life.” Jim remains optimistic that the Spanish system will reunite him with his son. “We're complying in every way possible. The Spanish social services and the Spanish hospital have been fantastic. We've got nothing bad to say about them,” he said. Regardless of what happens, his family are staying put. The Cootes, too, are thinking about moving the rest of the family out to Spain. “She's the point of it all,” said Mrs Coote. “This allows her to grow up in the family. I'd tell other grandparents or parents to do it. It's the only way you're going to get to bring up your child.” Suffolk County Council said it was 'not appropriate' to discuss individual cases with anyone other than those directly involved.

San Javier will have a new cultural centre right in the heart of the town. The new building will be modern looking and half covered in glass. The brand new building will house two auditoriums and various rooms for a multitude of uses, and a small café. The investment of 1 million euros is coming from the Plan E scheme, which has 3.3 million euros in total, and will generate 278 jobs. This scheme was set up by Zapatero's government to help ease the high numbers of unemployment. Two sports projects are also involved. A sports complex will be built in El Mirador and a football pitch with artificial grass will be built in San Javier.

More than 2,500 yachts which are moored in the eleven ports of the Mar Menor became isolated last Monday, when the only Access point into the Mediterranean, the lifting bridge, broke down. The lack of agreement between those responsible for the bridge meant that the situation has remained unchanged over the following days. The problem has also affected the hundreds of other boats which are moored illegally on the Mar Menor and those vessels which wished to enter the natural salt lagoon. The only ones who could go out onto the Mediterranean were those without a mast. The director of the Tomás Maestre port has compared the situation to when you leave your car in a hotel car park and when your holiday is over you are unable to take your car home. He added that the fact that the channel is closed is a big security risk. If boat started sinking and made its way to the Mar Menor for reparations it would find its route blocked. Up until the 1st March the bridge was opening every two hours for 15 minutes, between 8am and 10pm.

The parents of a baby born in Spain with Downs Syndrome and several holes in her heart are celebrating the success of life-saving surgery following a battle with health authorities. Isabel Davies Atherton was born in September last year, when the law allowing health care was being withdrawn from British citizens in the Valencia region of Spain. She was delivered at Torrevieja Hospital by emergency Caesarean section, weighing just over six pounds (2.785kg). Her father Blue was then told that it was suspected that Isabel had Down's syndrome. Alison, Isabel's mother, had taken out a Prestige Healthcare Plan for herself, with previous medical history disregarded, and the couple also had European EHIC cards. They were invited to join the Spanish free health scheme on a visit to the Town Hall in the Orihuela Costa where they live, so felt that they had covered their options. ‘We knew we were going to try for children so we bought this particular plan, which included £4,000 a year for routine pregnancy and childbirth cover,' said Alison. ‘We also knew that any babies we might have could be added from birth with the same beneficial underwriting terms.' Under a law passed in 2003 people living in the Valencia region were enticed to the area with the promise of free health cover. However, the law has recently been overturned, with ex-pats who are not in receipt of a UK state pension informed that they must pay for health care, with a scheme backed by private insurers costing 270 euros a quarter per person including children. Alison and Blue live on income from rental on properties owned in the UK, paying income tax in England as well as in Spain. When Alison became pregnant after two miscarriages she and Blue were confident that mother and baby would have every care afforded to a new family. However, when Isabel was born they found that their troubles had only just begun. Isabel was diagnosed with a hole in the heart as well as being suspected of having Down's syndrome. The paediatric cardiologist, Dr Izquierdo, told the couple that there was a chance that it might close by itself over time, and prescribed medication in the meantime to help regulate her blood pressure. The couple, who live in Playa Flamenca, were allowed to take Isabel home after a blood test was ordered - a chromosome count to confirm Down's syndrome - and her heart medication dosage had been set. They then tried to obtain the results of the blood test, so that her diagnosis could be confirmed and they could pursue the necessary therapy for Isabel. ‘We asked for the results at the doctor's three times, and chased it up with Torrevieja hospital' said Alison. ‘We could have been starting treatment for her, as early intervention can make a huge difference to the long term development of babies with Down's syndrome.' Alison contacted PUMA22, a group set up to fight for the reinstatement of health care, and founder member Mr Bill Bridges spoke to staff at the British Consulate. Mr Martyn Standing for the Department of Health, Work and Pensions in Alicante, contacted Alison and told her that Isabel's SIP card did entitle her to full medical assistance. He also contacted the Downs Association of Spain on their behalf. Isabel was then referred via Social Services for physiotherapy three times a week in Orihuela. Then a further ECG in January revealed two further holes in her heart. This new development meant that Isabel required specialist open-heart surgery in Valencia fairly urgently, and the procedure was duly booked to go ahead two weeks later. Unfortunately the operation was then cancelled only five days before it was due to take place, after Isabel's parents were told that her SIP card was not properly accredited. Alison then approached her private insurers, AXA PPP, who agreed to cover the cost of the operation. Isabel was admitted to the Casa de Salud hospital in Valencia on February 9, and underwent open-heart surgery two days later. During the two hours in surgery three holes in Isabel's heart were repaired along with a faulty valve, which was detected the day before the operation during a final ECG. She then spent four days in the paediatric intensive care unit, before being allowed to go home on February 17 with 25 staples in her chest plus stitches. ‘She looked like she had been fitted with a zipper,' said Alison. ‘They allowed us to go home early as Isabel was making such a great recovery, and her brother Josh was over from the UK for a week to meet his little sister.' On February 22 Isabel had her staples and stitches removed at Torrevieja Hospital. Her paediatrician said she was making excellent progress on February 25 when Isabel was taken to the hospital for a post-operative check. She will be examined again in May. ‘Isabel will need to have an ECG with a paediatric cardiologist in the next few weeks though, just to be safe,' said Alison. ‘I can't describe what a relief it is to have got through this with our gorgeous baby daughter still intact. There should be no stopping her now! She has been so brave, and we feel really lucky to have such a terrific little girl.' Alison pays £235 a month for private health care for herself and Isabel with AXA PPP, while Blue's insurance with ASSSA had to be cancelled from January 1, as the family are unable to afford private health cover for all three of them at this time. For more information and advice visit puma22.org.

The short article we published two weeks ago titled “Urbanisation Presidents Good or Bad”, has been the source of a lot of feedback from you readers. Your views are quite fairly divided, although perhaps there were more letters in favour of the presidents than against them. We also had phone calls and visits to the Leader office, in which many of you seemed to want to get your feelings off their chest. For example, a resident from Villamartin, who has lived in Spain for nine years, has fallen out with the president of the urbanisation where he lives, twice. The main source of the ill feeling, in this case and the vast majority of the others, appears to be the communal swimming pool. This resident has checked with his solicitor, and found out that legally the pool should be available for residents to use 24 hours a day. According to the solicitor times to use the pool are usually agreed at AGMs, but these are generally guidelines and there is some flexibility. The neighbours who live near the pool will obviously be disturbed by the noise there more than those who live further away. But if you buy a house near a pool this must be expected, and children cannot be told to “swim in silence” or “not splash”, as was the case in this urbanisation. The pool rules and regulations at this pool are so strict that many residents have had their own pool built in their garden, where no one can tell them what they can and can't do. When asked if he had raised these complaints at the meetings, this reader replied that he had but all this had achieved was to raise the shackles of the president and cause her to watch this family's every move. It appears that the meetings are not attended by the majority of the residents, and that it is assumed that those who do not attend are happy with the running of things, so it is very hard for changes to be made. A Mrs Shipley had a different point of view. Here is what she had to say; I think Mr. A needs to acquaint himself with the The Law of Horizontal Property (this can be found in English in the book 'You and the Law in Spain' by David Searl). He will discover that most of the rules of his community are actually laid down in Spanish law. Other private statutes may be added by the community to suit their needs. These would be voted upon at the AGM. Some of the rules Mr. A finds so odious may have been added by the majority of the owners before he joined the community. Usually these rules serve to ensure harmony amongst the community. She goes on to say, On page 370 of this book there is a very good description of community presidents: 'Sometimes they act in a high-handed manner....... Far more often the president is a civic-minded spirit who is willing to take his turn at handling the problems which arise in any community.......' I'm pleased to say that the president of the community where I live is of the 'civic-minded' variety. In fact, rather than 'place' himself where there are 'any goings on' he is, more often than not, approached by co-owners to assist when they have a problem. In fact I am amazed by the types of problems he is called upon to resolve. I'm sure these people did not call on random neighbours for help with every little thing that went wrong in their lives before they moved to Spain. I'm also convinced that a good percentage of them are only too pleased to have someone to pass these problems on to. In a similar vein T Rogers, the President of Vistamarina Community in La Marina had this to say; I have been President of our Community for the last 3 years, and unfortunately, I have heard of Presidents who think they can do what they like. Mr A appears to have one of those. The Presidents role in the community is solely to manage the community, and not to police it. We are bound by the ‘Horizontal Law', which anyone can see and read. The problem is, that a lot of Presidents are thrown into the job and don't want it. They do not know the law, or what is expected of them. I try to help our owners a much as possible, because their problems are OUR problems, and we are all in the same boat. Community fees are worked out by the full cost of running the community, divided by the number of properties. If all properties are the same size, the community fees are the same. Penalties for unpaid community fees can only be applied if the rule has been passed at an AGM. Solicitors letters should come from the Administrator whose fee is already paid in the Community fees. A good President can save their community thousands, and a well run community can add value to your house. You have to have rules. The owners make the rules, not the President. Anybody can put a rule forward at the AGM, where it is then a simple majority vote. Disturbingly, Mr A says, ‘ Nobody voices their discontent at meetings for fear of reprisals or animosity' This is wrong. I encourage all of the owners to voice their opinions, after all it is OUR community. Last year, in La Marina, we formed a Presidents Association, to help and advise ALL community Presidents in our area, what their role is, and to help them. We have meetings to discuss any issue that someone may bring up, and I have found it very informative. Mr A has obviously had a bad experience, and if he feels as passionate about it as he sounds, why not call an EGM, or wait for the next AGM, and vote off the current President. Mr A sounds like he could do a good job. Most Presidents do a good and thankless job. Another reader, David Swann from La Marina, had this to say; Mr A is typical of people who like to air their views before finding out the basics about his obvious dislike. As Mr A suggests, a national law, Spain already HAS a "national law" - "Ley De Propiedad Horizontal" or "Act about Property on Condominium". Most people who buy property in Spain will be members of a Community of Owners, albeit a house or apartment.Even though the tenants will be the freehold owners, there will be common parts: swimming pools, gardens, staircases in some cases private roads which have to be maintained. I have lived on an Urbanisation for many years, have been president for a number of years & it works very well. In fact one realises that as urbanisations cater for both permanent residents & holidays makers guidance is necessary to make both acceptable. Wherever you are it is very unlikely that all members will agree. Another letter in favour of the presidents was this one; Firstly, I did not come out here to be President of my Community. I would give it up tomorrow if I could, but I was the first permanent resident of a mainly English speaking Community and was more or less shoed-in to the job. I came to Spain for a quiet life and that is mostly what I get until the holiday season commences. As a rule Presidents do NOT formulate their own rules and regulations. The main rules usually revolve around the swimming pool area and are either common sense rules or Spanish Law and are set in conjunction with the Community Administrator. I understand that people on holiday come here to relax and enjoy themselves and do not want to be bound by petty rules and regulations. Most of our properties are owned by people who let them out to holidaymakers who do not use the shower after daubing themselves with suntan oil and then go straight into the pool. Our pool last year had an unsightly oily ring above water level and nearly had to be emptied at cost to said owners. I had a row with a rental person to stop him going down with food and drink in glasses to consume around the pool. Do you think that he would have cleared all the glass if he had broken any or any dropped food? We were surrounded by uncleared land and the food could have attracted rats. I had to stop a young boy climbing on top of the swimming pools railings and diving off, watched by doting parents- yet another row I could do without - I am a petty Hitler. Yes I have made mistakes and been a little bit too overreactive. Spanish Law bans lilos as, in certain circumstances, they can be dangerous and I did attempt it at first, but now I go with the flow. However, another reader from Villamartin had a very negative opinion of his president. He Derek L claims that his urbanisation president is every bit as bad as the one in your story. Before she became president,she was on the commitee with me,and if there was anything to moan about she would, when people came on holiday, well she was horrible, one of the owners of a property, had the same family hiring his house for 4 years, the president and one of the other commitee told the people who were on holiday to stop their children splashing in the pool, how ridiculous is that, sure to say, that they won't be coming here again and the man has lost a valuable booking. When he remonstrated, all he got from el presidente was, 'You dont live here permanantly and there is no splashing in the pool.” It seems to me ,that most of the folk I know out here and who live on an urbanisation have the same problem with jobsworth presidents. On the other hand I know folk who say their president is nice and any problems ,he or she sort them out 'TACTFULLY'. I could go on forever, but it makes me feel bitter and twisted and it will put me off playing darts tonight! Michael Woodings, who has been President of Costa Paraiso 2 in San Miguel de Salinas for six years explains how hard the job of president is. He says he has held this position for 6 years because none of the other owners are prepared to take the job and the responsibilities that go with it, and believe me there are many. Yes, you are quite right, there are Presidents that act as if the community is theirs, are dictatorial in the way they run the community and probably lack the communication skills needed in dealing with the owners, some of whom are not English speaking and many who do not live in Spain. The president's term of office is for one year (unless the existing President is prepared to extend his or her term and is voted in by the community) If there are no volunteers to take the vacant position the property numbers are drawn out of a hat and that owner (living in Spain or not) is the lucky one to become President. The upside is that it is only for a year, the downside there is no continuity in running the community. In my humble opinion I can not see how you can, raise a budget (that is, as you know, the amount of money needed to run the community and calculate the community charge that each owner has to pay) without the forward planning with regards to maintenance, pool and cleaning contracts, Insurance etc: The community charge is based on the cuota system that is calculated on the amount of square metres of the property plus other criterion - too much info to place in this column. Without continuity of the President or committee members staying in office for more than a year how can projects be completed it's much the same as the British government being in power for one year, nothing will be achieved. As regards to cuotas, surcharges, threatening letters, solicitors' letters and charges, unfortunately this is an area too complicated to cover in this letter. I make this offer to you Mr A, come and see me, have a cup of tea and I will be happy to explain the position of president, the work it involves, the problems of cash flow and of debtors. Afterwards you may (I hope) have a different view of presidents in general. No doubt before the ink has dried on this news print there will be Presidents racing to their key boards only too willing to point out my errors. I don't profess to be an expert on the subject. Any information I have gained over the last six years has been through trial and error, (mostly the latter) and of course my ‘bible'. One final point: you stated & I quote' Nobody voices their discontent at meeting for fear of reprisals'. No, the word that comes to my mind is apathy and the only fear is the finger that may point at them, No, not telling them they have won the lottery, but giving them the good news that they will be the president for the ensuing year. I think it's time I stopped before I fill up the paper. I now only have to wait for the hate mail to arrive.

What am I entitled to as a resident in Spain? Find your answers at the British Consulate Open Day in Santa Pola The British Consulate in Alicante and the Pension, Benefit and Healthcare Team are holding an open event for British residents in the Santa Pola area on Friday 12th March 2010 at 10:30am, presenting advice on some of the issues that matter most to residents. The Pension, Benefit and Healthcare Team will provide essential information on British residents' entitlements in Spain and the services that their team can offer. The British Vice-Consul will open the session and explain the role of the Consulate. Event details: PLACE: Salon de Teatro Santa Pola Life Resort C/Monte de Santa Pola, Nº 15 03130 (Gran Alacant) Santa Pola Alicante DATE: Friday 12th March 2010 TIME:10:30am (doors open at 9.45am) To reserve your place, please go to: http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/opendays If you experience problems booking or do not have internet access, call: 917 14 64 43

The inadequate use of internet, video games and television is being blamed for school failure in many children. Salvador Peiró i Gregòri, a profesor and investigator at Alicante University, says that it is leading to pupil's lack of ability to concentrate and to a lower intellectual capacity in adolescents. Peiro has spent years working on this topic. He says that each year youngsters seem to get more and more addicted to new technology, and families seem to accept this as normal behaviour. One study has revealed that the intellectual level of adolescents is lower now than it was 3o years ago, and that communication via text messages and emails is lowering it further. He goes on to say that many pupils do their work by copying and pasting paragraphs from websites, and that this is lowering their vocabulary and level of comprehension. The television is changing values, with consumerism becoming the norm, and pleasure the aim. A lack of tolerance is another added result. According to Peiro the more telly the kids see the lower their school marks are.

San Javier library has created a reading workshop for foreigners, and a multilingual section of books. The weekly workshop is aimed at adults, and will take place throughout the months of March, April and May, in sessions lasting an hour. This free course is run in Spanish by Marisa Malo de Molina, who is the Intercultural Mediator for the library. It is aimed at foreigners with an intermediate level of Spanish, and the objective is to improve their level of the Spanish language and encourage them to read in Spanish, as well as putting the library and its services on the map and improve integration in the municipality. Anyone interested in attending can enrol at the library between 9am and 9pm. Marisa will then see what your level of Spanish is and organise groups of people with similar levels and characteristics. The three groups will meet Tuesdays 5pm to 6pm, Wednesdays 11am to 12pm or 12pm to 1pm. The multilingual section of the library has books, which can be borrowed, in English, French, Italian, German, Swedish and Arabic. The initiative is already proving popular, not only amongst native speakers, but also amongst readers who wish to practice and improve these languages.